


Duplicity

by Elyxer



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ethan Gold Bashing, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-21
Updated: 2008-10-03
Packaged: 2018-12-27 01:33:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12070965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elyxer/pseuds/Elyxer
Summary: Retake on the movie Overboard QaF style.





	1. A New Past

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

  
Author's notes: As always, I'd like to thank my beta, Emily, for all her hard work; Rory, for making the banner; all my guinea pigs for their help and encouragement, and all my regular readers.   


* * *

He opened his eyes and quickly shut them again because the bright lights pierced into his skull like a sharp knife. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes and opened them again, blinking until his vision cleared. His head felt like someone had driven a spike all the way through it.   
  
“I’m glad you’re finally awake, Mr. Kinney. I’m Doctor Jones and I’ll be looking after you today. We were beginning to get worried when you didn’t regain consciousness immediately.”  
  
He blinked up at the man dressed in the white coat. “Mr. Kinney?”  
  
“Yes, do you remember now?”  
  
“Remember? I don’t know. It doesn’t sound familiar.”  
  
“I had hoped that finding out your name would help restore your memory, but these things take time. How are you feeling?” Dr. Jones picked up a clipboard and looked over it.  
  
“How did you figure out my name? I still don’t remember anything.”  
  
“You’re husband, Brian, told us everything.”  
  
“My husband?” He closed his eyes and tried to visualize anything that might give him some clues. He wasn’t shocked to learn that he had a husband, so obviously he was gay. “Why is it that I know I’m gay, or at least I’m pretty sure I’m gay, but I can’t remember my name or where I’m from?”  
  
Dr. Jones laughed. “Considering you’re married to a man, I think the fact that you’re gay is pretty obvious, but let my try to answer your questions. We don’t know exactly how the mind processes things, but it’s not unusual to retain all motor functions and common knowledge while losing every thing personal.”  
  
He nodded his head. That made sense. He remembered what a doctor was and he figured out he was in a hospital, so he had retained some knowledge. It was so frustrating that he couldn’t remember anything about his life. “Where is my husband?”  
  
Brian entered the room and heard the question. “I’m right here, Sunshine.”  
  
He turned his head and blinked in shock. The man who’d just walked into the room was too beautiful for words. This was his husband?! He closed his mouth because he realized it was gaping a bit, licked his lips to wet them and asked, “Sunshine?”  
  
Brian sat down on the bed, picked up the hand closest to him and laced their fingers together. “I prefer to call you Sunshine, but if you’d rather I call you Jay, I will.”  
  
“My name is Jay?”  
  
Brian winked at Jay. “You’re called a lot of things; Sunshine, Jay, JK, Daddy Jay, and sometimes even DJ.”  
  
Jay swallowed hard and stared up at the man holding his hand. “Daddy Jay?”  
  
“Oh, yeah. I talked to the boys and explained to them that you were having problems remembering things. Don’t worry, I’m sure your memory will come back soon.”  
  
“Boys?”  
  
Brian grinned and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open and pointed to the first picture of a little boy that was a miniature version of himself. “This is Gus; he’s five and in Kindergarten.” He pointed to another boy with bright red hair and freckles. “Here’s Danny; he’s ten and in the fifth grade.” He flipped the pictures and pointed to another boy with curly black hair. “This is Nate; he’s thirteen and in the eighth grade.” Finally, he pointed to a picture of twin boys with wild curly blond hair. “These are the twins Chad and Charlie; they’re eight and in the third grade.”  
  
Jay felt himself getting a little light headed. He wiped the sweat that had suddenly appeared on his forehead with a shaky hand. “Do we babysit these boys?”  
  
Brian laughed and shook his head. “No. These are our boys.”  
  
“Our boys? As in our sons? As in they live with us all the time…year round…seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, year in and year out?” Jay coughed and desperately sucked air into his lungs. He was going to pass out.  
  
Brian grinned and patted Jay on the shoulder. “You always wanted a big family, Jay, and I just couldn’t deny you that.”  
  
Jay was struggling so hard to breathe he was making little wheezing sounds. He finally got himself under control. “So, who watches the boys while we work?”  
  
“You do, Jay. You were adamant about that. You said that there was no way that your kids were going to be raised by some stranger. I agreed with you, so I work and you tend to the house and the boys. It works out great for us.”  
  
Jay started to wheeze again and fanned his face with his free hand. His lips were moving but nothing understandable was coming out.  
  
“You’re doing the fishy faces. Gus loves it when you do that, and I think you look so adorable.”  
  
Jay scratched at his throat and shook his head. He couldn’t get enough air. This couldn’t be happening to him. He was almost certain he’d never had any children of his own, but that couldn’t be right. Why couldn’t he remember?  
  
Brian looked up at the doctor. “So, Doc, when can I take Sunshine home? The kids miss him, and I think he’ll get his memory back faster if he just jumps back into his old life.”  
  
Jay was shaking his head weakly, desperately trying to stop the awful wheezing noises.  
  
Dr. Jones smiled and clapped his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “I don’t see any reason why he can’t go home in the morning. I think you’re right about him getting back on his regular schedule.”  
  
Brian smiled, leaned down and kissed Jay on the forehead. “I’ll be here bright and early to pick you up in the morning, Sunshine. I’m going home to tell the boys that you’ll be coming home. I know they’ll be so excited.”  
  
Jay watched his husband practically skip out of the hospital room and looked over at the doctor with tears in his eyes.  
  
Dr. Jones smiled down at the young man. “I know you must be so happy to have your husband and kids back in your life. You’re a very lucky young man.”  
  
Jay blinked as the tears rolled down his cheeks. “Yeah, I’m really lucky.”  
  


************Brian’s House************

  
  
Brian stumbled through the front door, tripping over the twins’ shoes. “Boys, get down here now!”  
  
A short woman ran into the living room, stopped in front of Brian and pointed her finger in his face. Her hair was standing out all around her head, and she had blue splotches of paint strategically arranged. “These kids are monsters! You’d better be glad you’re home. I was about to call the police. I’m out of here. No amount of money is worth this!” She shoved past him and practically sprinted out the door, jumping over obstacles like an Olympian.”  
  
Brian watched as his latest housekeeper made a break for freedom and turned to glare up the stairs at his sons. “What did you guys do to that poor woman?”  
  
Nate ran down the steps. “She was so mean to us, Dad. We were just defending ourselves.”  
  
Brian rubbed a hand over his face and looked at his boys. They were all huddled together on the stairs, waiting to see if he was going to blow up at Nate. He shook his head and smiled up at their little faces. “Come on down here guys. I have something very important to talk to you about.”  
  
He waited until all five boys were sitting on the couch before he cleared off a section on the coffee table so he could sit down. “Listen guys, I’m bringing someone home tomorrow who’s going to look after you guys. You won’t be able to run him off because I’m not paying him to watch you.”  
  
“Then why is he doing it, Dad?” chorused the twins.  
  
“He’s doing it because he thinks we’re married, and he thinks he’s your Daddy.”  
  
“Whatever gave him that idea?” asked Danny.  
  
“I told him. I want you guys to call him Daddy Jay or DJ, and I expect you to give him a chance. This is really important guys.”  
  
“Why is it so important?” huffed Nate.  
  
Brian took a deep breath. “You boys have been having problems in school, and I can’t seem to pay a housekeeper enough to hang around for more than a day. I’m afraid you boys will be taken from me, so please give Jay a shot.”  
  
Gus launched himself into Brian’s arms. “I don’t want to go away, Dad. Don’t let them take me.”  
  
Brian hugged his youngest son and looked at the other four boys. “Promise me that you’ll do everything you can to get along with Jay.”  
  
The boys looked at one another and turned back to their father. “We promise, Dad.”  
  
Brian smiled. “Great. Now, try to pick this place up or we’ll scare him off before he even gets settled in.”  
  
Brian fed the boys hotdogs for dinner and sent them up to clean their rooms and get ready for bed. He’d just got the living room looking slightly less like a dump when the doorbell rang. He opened the door and smiled at Ted and Emmett. “It’s about time you guys got here. He’s coming home tomorrow, so we have to get everything set up.”  
  
“I got everything you asked for, Brian, but I’m not sure I’m happy about this.” Emmett walked in carrying bags of clothes.  
  
“I’ve got all the paperwork you need to sign to add him to the household accounts and I got him added to your credit card with a card in his name that will arrive in a few days by mail.” Ted handed the folder to Brian.  
  
Brian closed the door and followed them into the room. “I really appreciate this guys.”  
  
Emmett turned and glared at Brian. “How can you do this? That poor man has no idea who he is and you’re filling his head with a bunch of lies so you’ll have someone to watch your kids.”  
  
Brian sighed. “Emmett, you said they found him in an alley. Plus, he may never get his memory back and I can take care of him. He’ll never want for anything.”  
  
Emmett flopped down on the couch. “No, he’s stuck with a fake husband and five kids to raise. Sounds like every boys dream to me.”  
  
“What happens if he does get his memory back, Bri? He could press charges against you. Then what would happen to the boys?” Ted sat down next to Emmett.  
  
“I can’t worry about that now, Ted. I can only deal with one crisis at a time.” Brian opened the folder and shuffled through the paperwork. “Everything seems to be in order, just let me sign these and you can file them.”  
  
Ted handed Brian a pen. “Do you want us to hang these clothes in your closet?”  
  
Brian nodded. “Yeah, I cleared out some space.”  
  
Ted and Emmett picked up the bags of clothes and disappeared into Brian’s bedroom.  
  
Brian sat down at the table and signed all the papers next to the neat little red x’s. He looked around his home and smiled. He’d done exactly what he’d set out to do. He owned his own business, made a great living, owned a big house, and had five of the greatest boys to call his sons. He loved them all, even if they were going to make him go gray long before his time.  
  
Ted and Emmett came back into the room carrying empty bags. “It’s all put away, Brian. I just really hope you know what you’re doing.” Emmett hugged Brian and headed for the door.  
  
Ted took the folder from Brian. “Listen, Boss. If you need anything else give me a call.”  
  
“Thanks, Theodore. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”  
  
“Aren’t you picking up Jay tomorrow?” asked Emmett.  
  
“Yes, but after I get him settled in here, I’m going to work.”

“Do you think it’s fair to thrust him into all of this and leave him?” Ted glanced up at Brian.

“I don’t really have a choice, now do I?”

Brian walked them to the door, closed and locked it behind them. He slowly walked into his bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I certainly hope I know what I’m getting myself into.”

 


	2. A New Home

Brian dropped the boys off at school and then rushed to the hospital to pick up his _husband_. He laughed and turned the radio up louder. His problems were handled for the moment; he’d deal with any fallout if and when Jay got his memory back, but for now, he was going to take advantage of his good fortune.  
He parked, grabbed the bag of clothes he’d brought for Jay, locked his car, and headed into the hospital. He had to get Jay settled at home and still make it to the office in time for his meeting with Remson Pharmaceuticals.   
  
Jay swallowed hard and tried to keep his hands from trembling as he watched the man that was supposed to be his husband breeze into his room. He was going to make this work, so he took a deep breath and smiled his best smile. “Hi, Br-Brian.”  
  
Brian stopped and felt his entire body tingle when he saw that smile. He shook his head, licked his lips, and smiled back. He certainly got lucky with this guy. “Hi, Sunshine. Are you ready to go home?”  
  
Home. That sounded so wonderful to Jay. His stomach cramped up and his heart started to beat a little faster. For some reason he had the urge to cry, but he bit his lip, straightened his back, and met his husband’s gaze. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”  
  
Brian sat the bag on the bed. “I brought you some clothes so you don’t have to leave in that fashionable ensemble the hospital gave you.”  
  
Jay looked down at the hospital gown and shuddered. He pulled open the bag and pulled out a powder blue t-shirt, black jeans, underwear, socks and tennis shoes. He smiled up at Brian. “Thank you. I’d hate to run into someone I can’t remember and tarnish my fashion reputation.”  
  
Brian laughed. “Get dressed and I’ll break you out of this joint.”  
  
Jay smiled hesitantly and took his clothes into the bathroom. He knew he was married to Brian and he knew they’d probably had sex a million times, but he couldn’t remember any of it. His behavior might seem stupid, but he needed some privacy. The thought of going home made him nervous. What did Brian expect? He took a shaky breath and got dressed.  
  


(^-^)~(^-^)~(^-^)~(^-^)~Brian’s House~(^-^)~(^-^)~(^-^)~(^-^)

Jay sat in the car and stared at the house. _This_ was where he lived. It just didn’t feel right for some reason. He had hoped that seeing his home would bring back some of his memories, but he didn’t recognize anything.

He studied the two-story brick house with a critical eye. The trim was painted white, but the front door, the double garage doors and all the shutters were cobalt blue. The flower beds on either side of the porch were in desperate need of pruning and possibly some replanting, and the grass needed a good mowing. He shook his head. It wasn’t like him to let things like that go. He wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he was positive he’d never live in a place that wasn’t immaculate.

He got out of the car and looked around the front yard, noting all the toys littering the view. His gaze followed the circular drive down to the road, and smiled at the crooked mailbox that was shaped like some type of sport’s car, possibly a red corvette. When he saw Brian waiting for him at the door, he slowly made his way up the steps.

“Right this way, Sunshine. Welcome home.” Brian opened the door and waited for Jay to enter.

Jay stepped into the house and looked around in horror. Toys, books, papers, take-out cartons, and clothes were strewn all over the place, even hanging from the banister. “Oh, no fucking way.”

“I know it’s bad, Jay, but I’m not as good a housekeeper as you are. I’m sure you’ll have the place whipped back into shape in no time.”

Jay whipped around and glared at Brian with his mouth hanging open. “You expect me to clean up this mess?”

Brian grinned sheepishly. “You’re in charge of the house, Jay. I hate to leave you on your first day home, but I have a meeting. Here’s your set of keys, the van is in the garage, and here’s your cell with all my numbers programmed in. I’m sure you’ll be able to find anything you need, if not, buy it. Since your wallet was stolen, I had to cancel all your cards, but you should get replacements any day now. In the mean time, you can use this card.” Brian handed him a platinum visa and continued, “The PIN is 6969. If you need me, just call.” He turned and quickly walked out, closing the door behind him.

Jay looked at all the items Brian had practically shoved into his hands and turned around staring at the mess he was expected to clean. Something was desperately wrong here. He sighed, put the keys, card and phone into his pocket and slowly started walking through the house. Each room he discovered was just as untidy as the last, making him want to cry. He wasn’t sure how things had gotten this bad in the length of time he was gone, but he couldn’t live like this. He took a deep breath and went to work.

He decided to tackle the kitchen first and grabbed the trashcan, shuddering as he picked up a bowl that had mold growing in it. Shaking his head, Jay dumped the whole thing into the garbage. He groaned in disgust when his sneakers actually stuck to the tiled floor. Dear God. He lived with a bunch of slobs. His eyes scanned the kitchen, coming to rest on the stove. Was the top supposed to be _that_ black?

After two hours of frantic cleaning, Jay was happy with his progress. He’d cleaned the living room, dining room, kitchen, and both bathrooms on the first floor. The doctor told him that he wouldn’t forget the basics, so obviously he had a lot of experience cleaning. He could understand how he got that experience by living here. He smiled and looked around. This was more like it.

He glanced at the clock. It was half past noon and he was getting hungry. He went into the sparkling clean kitchen and opened the fridge. His eyes immediately started to water. What the hell was that smell? He shook his head and started cleaning and organizing the fridge. Things were definitely going to change around here. He wasn’t going to be a maid for his family. He finally finished, made himself a tuna sandwich, and sat down at the bar to eat it with a glass of water. There didn’t seem to be anything to drink except beer and sodas. That was going to change as well.

After lunch, he started another load of clothes, attempting to put a dent in the smelly mountain located next to the washing machine. Then, he made the bed and vacuumed what had to be his and Brian’s bedroom, since it was the only room in the house that didn’t look like it had been struck by an F-5 tornado.

Jay opened the door across from the bedroom and found a home office. He gave it a quick dusting and vacuumed. Obviously, the children weren’t allowed in their bedroom or the office. He lugged the vacuum up the stairs and went to work on the kids’ bedrooms. Another hour passed quickly but his work was interrupted by the ringing of the house phone. He ran downstairs and answered it.

A woman asked, “Is this Mr. Kinney?”

Jay paused for a moment. “Yes, I guess that would be me.”

“Mr. Kinney, I’m Janice, the school principle, you need to come pick up the twins immediately. They have disrupted their class all day. I’ve already warned you that we couldn’t deal with your children misbehaving, so I’m suspending them for the remainder of the week.”

Jay was speechless. His heart started pounding and he felt like he might pass out. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “Fine. I’ll pick them up, but where is the school located?”

The woman gave him the address and hung up on him. He sighed and wondered how he was supposed to find the school. The street didn’t sound familiar to him. He went into the study and turned on the computer, pulling up Yahoo maps. After printing the directions to the school, he locked up the house, went into the garage, unlocked the van and headed out.

Luckily the school was located near by, so he didn’t have any problems finding it. He quickly parked the van and entered the school. Nothing looked familiar to him at all. As he walked down the hall, Jay saw two blond boys huddled together on a bench desperately scratching. This had to be the twins. Why couldn’t he remember them? He squatted down and smiled at the boys. “Hey guys, I’m here to take you home. What happened today?”

Chad looked at Charlie and then back at the man. This must be the guy that Dad wanted them to be nice to. They had to call him Daddy J. “I itch, Daddy J.” Chad held out his little arm.

Jay looked at boy’s arm and frowned. There was a rash and it was obviously itching and hurting the boys. “Have you guys been playing in the woods?”

Charlie started scratching his belly in earnest. “Yes. We played in the woods next to the park after school yesterday.”

“It really itches, Daddy J.” Chad squirmed on the bench.

Jay nodded, took a deep breath and held out his hands for the boys to take. “Come on guys. I have to have a word with your principle.”

Jay walked into the main office and told the twins to have a seat. He knocked on the door with the sign that read, “Principle Janice Greene.” A plump woman in her mid fifties opened the door.

“Can I help you?”

Jay squared his shoulders. “Yes, you can. I’m Jay Kinney, the twins’ father, and I’d like to have a word with you.”

The woman stepped back into her office and Jay followed. “What is it, Mr. Kinney?”

“I’d like to know why my children were left out in the hall instead of sent to the school nurse.”

“Look. You’re kids are a major behavioral problem for this school and they have been since day one. There is nothing wrong with them.”

Jay walked to the door and motioned for the twins to come into the office. He pulled up their shirts one at a time, showing the principal the rash. “Does this look like there is nothing wrong with them?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kinney. I didn’t know.”

“And you didn’t bother to find out either, did you? I don’t know what went on before, but I can assure you that things will change now. If you ever mistreat my kids like this again, this school will have a lawsuit slapped against it so fast it will make your head spin. Do you understand me?”

The twins stared at one another with wide eyes. This guy was taking their side.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Kinney. I can assure you that nothing like this will ever happen again.”

“You see that it doesn’t, Miss Greene. Now, I’d like for you to get all my children up here so I can take them home.”

Jay squatted in front of the twins. “Don’t worry, boys. I’ll take you home and get you some medicine that will make you feel better.”

Charlie looked at Jay with tears in his eyes. No one except Dad had ever defended him. He wrapped his arms around Jay’s neck. “I’m glad you’re home, Daddy J.”

Charlie hugged Jay’s neck too. “Me too.”

Jay swallowed the lump that formed at the back of his throat and wrapped his arms around the little boys. “I’m glad I’m home too.”

 


	3. All New Rules

  


Jay couldn’t stop thinking about how ineffective the school was in dealing with the twins when a woman’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I’ve brought your other children, Mr. Kinney.”  
  
He stood and turned to see three boys holding hands and dressed in what looked to be Armani suits with the shirts untucked, ties hanging loosely around their necks and suit jackets wadded in their hands. He turned to the woman who had an obvious look of disgust on her face. “Thank you for bringing me my children.”  
  
“I suggest you exercise more discipline on these boys at home, Mr. Kinney, or we’ll be forced to expel them from this school.”  
  
Jay felt a surge of rage boil up from his gut. How dare this woman pass judgment on his children. He stepped directly in front of the teacher and in a very low voice growled, “Don’t you dare presume to tell me how to raise my boys. This school has already shown me its total disregard for the welfare of its students. I suggest you change your attitude or I’ll have a little talk with my lawyer. I’m sure he’d love to hear how you left my twins sitting out in a hallway with a severe case of poison ivy.”  
  
The woman’s eyes went wide and she took a step backwards. “I-I’m sorry, but with their previous behavior—”  
  
“I don’t care to hear your excuses. I’m going to take my kids home and treat their rashes. I’ll have them all back in school as soon as it’s cleared up, and I’m sure that you _will_ welcome them back.”  
  
“Yes sir, Mr. Kinney. We do hope your boys get to feeling better.”  
  
Jay turned his back on the teacher and looked at the five boys huddled together. Again, he felt a rage boiling inside him. No one got away with mistreating his kids. He saw how the boys all huddled together and instinctively knew that they were used to adults treating them differently. The oldest boy was staring at him, and he felt his stomach lurch when he recognized the fear and mistrust in the boy’s eyes. It was clear that he needed to prove himself to these boys. He smiled brightly. “Come on, I’m going to take you home.”  
  
“I call shotgun,” yelled Danny.  
  
“No way,” replied Nate, shoving his brother against the lockers. “You had shotgun last time.”  
  
Danny charged into his older brother with fists flying. “I did not!”  
  
Jay stopped walking and turned back around. “Stop it!”  
  
All five boys stopped their scuffling and stared wide eyed up at the strange man who was to be their Daddy J.  
  
Jay sighed when he saw the fear in the youngest boy’s eyes. “Listen guys, I’ve been sick and I’m having some problems remembering things, so I’m going to need your help.” He looked at the tallest boy. “What’s your name?”  
  
Nate swallowed hard. “Nathan Kinney.”  
  
Jay nodded and smiled. “Fine. Nathan will ride in the front with me because he’s the oldest.”  
  
“That’s not fair! He’s only three years older than me.” Danny stomped his foot.  
  
Jay looked at the bright red headed boy. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Daniel Kinney.”  
  
“Well, Daniel, when you and I go out without Nathan, then you’ll be the oldest and get to ride up front with me.”  
  
“What about us?” exclaimed Chad.  
  
Jay smiled. “I’m sorry…ummm…which one are you?”  
  
“My name is Chad Kinney and this is Charlie.”  
  
“I may have a bit of a problem telling you two apart for awhile.” Jay smiled and ruffled Chad’s hair. “You’re too young to be riding in the front of a car. In a few years, you’ll get your turn. Now, let’s get out of here.”  
  
Jay started walking towards the parking lot where he’d parked the van. He noticed that Nathan was walking close to his side. “Nathan since you’re the oldest and will have more privileges than your brothers, I expect you to help me take care of them.”  
  
Nathan looked up at the man and smiled. He’d been impressed with the way ‘Daddy J’ had defended him and his brothers. “You got it, Daddy J.”  
  
Jay smiled. He felt a little fluttering in his chest each time one of the boys called him Daddy J.  
  
As soon as they reached the van, Nathan took over like a drill sergeant. “Okay guys, get in and buckle up.”  
  
Jay watched as Nathan helped the younger kids buckle their seat belts and then swung into the passenger seat, fastening his own belt. “Ready to roll, Daddy J.”  
  
After a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up a couple of bottles of calamine lotion, Jay drove home and herded the boys into the clean dining room. “Strip off your shirts and show me the rashes.”  
  
Luckily, the twins were the only ones with a rash so Jay spread the lotion over every infected inch of skin. “You have to stop scratching or you’ll make it worse.”  
  
“But it itches.”  
  
“I know it itches, but you have to try very hard not to scratch, okay?” Jay smiled at Charlie reassuringly before turning to look at the rest of the boys. “As you can see, I cleaned up a bit today.”  
  
“I didn’t think it was our house for a second,” quipped Danny.  
  
“Well from now on it’s going to stay clean because we are all going to pick up after ourselves and we’ll all have chores.”  
  
“I don’t want no stinking chores.” Gus stomped his foot.  
  
“The rules are simple. You work and you get rewarded. If you don’t want to work, that’s fine, but you won’t get any benefits.”  
  
Nate looked at Jay. “What kind of reward?”  
  
“Since you’re the oldest, you’ll be expected to do more grown-up things, but you’ll also have special privileges.” Jay winked at Nate.  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“For instance, you’ll always get shot-gun when we all go to the store. You’ll be allowed to stay up later than the other boys as long as you keep your grades up and prove to me that it’s not interfering with your school work. I can drop you off at the arcade or the mall on Saturday and come back and pick you up, since you’re old enough to follow the rules and stay where you’re supposed to. Things like that.”  
  
“I get to go out on my own?” Nate looked shocked.  
  
“Sure, just follow the rules and don’t lie to me. As long as you don’t give me a reason to mistrust you, I’ll trust you with a lot of things.”  
  
Danny crossed his arms. “Why does he get so many special privileges?”  
  
“He’s the oldest. You’ll get more privileges than the twins. You’ll be able to stay up later than they will. If Nathan isn’t going with us you’ll get shot-gun. I think you’re old enough to sleep over at your friends’ houses as long as you mind your manners.”  
  
“What about us?” asked Charlie.  
  
“You can have friends over twice a month and we’ll be sure to plan something for you guys on Saturdays.”  
  
“Me! What do I get?” demanded Gus.  
  
Jay laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You get to spend a lot of time with me young man.”  
  
“So what do we have to do for all this stuff?” asked Nate.  
  
“You will each have a list of chores, but it is mostly just picking up after yourself. Make sure your dirty clothes are sorted and brought down to the laundry room, keep your rooms in order, put away your toys, take your dishes to the kitchen when you’re finished eating, and clean up after yourself in the bathroom.”  
  
Danny smiled. “That doesn’t sound hard, but what is our reward?”  
  
“Nathan is the oldest and he’ll have to make sure you younger boys are doing your part.” Jay looked over at Nate. “He won’t be bullying or bossing anyone around or he’ll forfeit his reward and privileges.”  
  
Nate blushed, bit his lip and finally nodded his head. “I won’t.”  
  
“He’ll get a weekly allowance. I’ll have to talk to Brian so he can set an amount for each of you.”  
  
Chad pulled on Jay’s shirt. “Will we get allowances?”  
  
“If you work around the house, do your best in school, and mind your manners, you’ll get paid.”  
  
Gus hugged Jay’s leg and looked up. “Do I get lowances?”  
  
“Absolutely, big guy.”  
  
The doorbell rang and Jay walked through the living room and opened the door. He saw an older lady standing on the porch and said, “Yes?”  
  
“I’m Julia Bishop and I’m here to pick up my pay.”  
  
Jay motioned for her to come in. “I don’t know anything about it, but if you’ll give me a moment, I’ll call Brian.”  
  
Julia walked in and looked around in amazement. “Wow. This place looks a lot better than it used to. Did Mr. Kinney finally come to his senses and get rid of all those little monsters?”  
  
Jay spun around and pointed his finger in Julia’s face. “I’m Mr. Kinney, and you won’t talk about my children that way. As a matter of fact, get the hell out of my house. I’ll have Brian send you your money.”  
  
“Obviously you haven’t met the little hellions if you’re defending them, so I’ll just wish you luck.” She turned and marched out the door that Jay slammed loudly after her retreating form.  
  
Jay turned and saw the boys staring at him. “Don’t pay any attention to what the wicked witch said. You boys run upstairs and put on some play clothes and I’ll see about getting us something to eat for dinner.”  
  
“Daddy J, what are play clothes?” asked Gus.  
  
Jay blinked and squatted down in front of the little boy. “Those are clothes you can get dirty in. You don’t want to mess up your nice clothes.”  
  
Nate looked at his brothers and then at Jay. “I don’t think we have any play clothes.”  
  
“Well go put on something that isn’t a suit.” Jay walked into the kitchen and pulled out his cell. He quickly found Brian’s number and dialed. After a few moments, Brian answered, “Kinney, here.”  
  
“Brian, we have a problem.”  
  
“What have the boys done now, and can’t you handle it?”  
  
Jay gripped his cell a little tighter. “The boys haven’t done anything. There is no food in this house, the kids don’t have proper clothes, your last housekeeper came by and I threw her out, the school is totally messed up and I need to know what you’re going to do about this.”  
  
“One thing at a time, Jay. Call and get take-out. I should be home in a couple of hours.”  
  
“Okay, but we need to make some major changes around here, Brian. I don’t know how this place got to be such a mess. How long was I gone?”  
  
“Look, we’ll talk later. Take care of the boys and I’ll see you soon.”  
  
Jay put his phone back into his pocket and looked around for a phonebook. There was so much that needed to be done. How had things gotten so bad here?  
  
“Daddy J.”  
  
Jay looked over at Gus. “What is it, son?”  
  
“Are you going to leave us like everyone else?”  
  
Jay felt his chest constrict. How was he supposed to explain his absence when he couldn’t remember anything? What had happened to his kids while he was gone? He felt a lump in his throat and swallowed hard. This wasn’t right. He knew what it was like to feel abandoned. He dropped to his knees and held his arms open. Gus took a few tentative steps in his direction then burst into a run, slamming into his chest with all the exuberance that only a five year old can show. “I’m never going to leave you again, Gus. I promise.”  
  
“Even when I’m bad and make you yell at me?”  
  
Jay ran his hand over the brown hair gently. “There is nothing in this world that you could do that would make me leave you. You’re just a little boy. Besides, you are never bad.”  
  
Gus sniffled. “I am sometimes. I was mean to the last lady and she left just like all the others.”  
  
“Gus, if you misbehave, I’ll take away some of your fun activities. I may even take away your favorite toy for a few days. Then after your punishment is over, we’ll forget all about it, because you’re a smart boy and I know you’ll learn.”  
  
“So if I mess up, you won’t leave us?” Gus looked into Jay’s eyes.  
  
“No way would I leave you behind. You, young man, are stuck with me for life.” Jay used his thumbs to brush away the tears.  
  
Gus’s face lit up with a brilliant smile. “I knew it! I’m going to tell the others. They keep saying you’ll leave like all the rest, but I knew you wouldn’t.”  
  
Jay watched as the boy ran up the stairs as fast as his little legs would carry him. He closed his eyes and tried to calm the raging storm of emotions. He still couldn’t remember anything, but he knew deep down that this was where he belonged. His kids needed him.


	4. A New Relationship

  


Jay finished setting the table and collapsed in the recliner. He tried to suppress a huge yawn but lost the battle. Every muscle in his body was screaming from the day’s exertion. He closed his eyes and listened to the boys as they ran back and forth, yelling orders to one another. His lips curved into a contented smile. It was nice to be home with his family.  
  
“Daddy J, come look at my room. I’m all done cleaning.”  
  
Jay chuckled and slowly climbed out of the over-stuffed recliner. “Coming, Daniel.” He jogged up the stairs to perform his inspection of the kids’ rooms. After being led into each room and given the grand tour, he praised the boys on their hard work. “You guys did a terrific job. I’m so proud of you all,” he said, giving each boy a hug. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and wait on that pizza.”  
  
A deafening roar of “PIZZA” followed Jay back down the stairs. As soon as everyone was in the living room, Jay motioned for them to all gather around the coffee table. “Okay, we’re going to play a game until the pizza arrives. Gus, go over and pick a game for us all to play.”  
  
“How come he gets to pick?” Daniel asked in a whiny voice.  
  
“He picks stupid games.” Chad crossed his arms and glared at Gus.  
  
Jay held up his hand. “He’s only five years old, so don’t tell him he makes stupid choices, Charlie.”  
  
“I didn’t say that. He did.” Charlie glared at his twin.  
  
Jay winced. “Sorry Charlie. Chad, don’t do that anymore; and Gus gets to pick because he’s the youngest. The rest of you get special privileges that he’s too young to appreciate, so as the youngest, he gets to help decide what we do as a family.”  
  
Chad rolled his eyes. “Great. We’ll end up doing baby stuff all the time.”  
  
“Would you prefer that I let Nathan pick what we do? I mean, if he picks something that’s inappropriate for you, then you’ll just be left out along with Gus.”   
  
Chad’s eye grew wide, and he shook his head.  
  
Charlie slapped Chad’s shoulder. “Would you shut up before you get us into trouble again.”  
  
“Don’t hit your brother, Charlie.”  
  
“Yes sir.” Charlie dipped his head.  
  
Gus ran back to the table carrying his Chutes and Ladders game, dropping it on the table. “Let’s play.”  
  
They’d just finished a game when the pizza arrived, so Jay paid the delivery boy and took the pizzas into the dining room. The boys all piled around the table, quickly taking their seats.  
  
“I’m so hungry, Daddy J,” said Gus, as he climbed into a chair.  
  
Jay checked the time and saw that it was a little past seven. Where was Brian? He pulled out his cell and called Kinnetik. When he didn’t get an answer, he hung up and called Brian’s cell. It went straight to voicemail, so he shoved the phone back into his pocket and smiled at the boys. “Let’s eat.”  
  
The meal was a boisterous affair with Jay reminding the boys not to talk with their mouths full, but encouraging them to tell him all about their day. He laughed at their stories and antics, thoroughly enjoying his time with them. He wished Brian was here, but a small part of him felt something just wasn’t right about his relationship with Brian. He was willing to admit to himself that he found the other man very attractive and he could easily see why he’d be in a relationship with him, but something was definitely off. It had to be something pretty bad for him to have left his kids.  
  
“Daddy J, will Dad be home soon?” asked Chad.  
  
Jay blinked as he was brought out of his foreboding thoughts. “I’m not sure when he’ll be home, Chad.”  
  
Gus climbed down from his chair and walked over to Jay, lifting his arms to show he wanted to be picked up. Jay lifted the little boy into his lap. “What’s wrong, big guy?”  
  
“Daddy never has time for us ‘cause we’re always getting in trouble.”  
  
Jay hugged the little boy tightly. “That’s not true, Gus. Your Dad is just really busy working.”  
  
Charlie leaned forward. “No, Mrs. Brooks said it was ‘cause we were little hooligans who needed to be beaten, and Dad was much too nice a man to deal with little monsters like us.”  
  
Jay almost bit his tongue to keep from cursing in front of the boys. “Don’t listen to anything that woman said, Charlie. You boys are just boys. Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with Mrs. Brooks.” He kissed Gus on top of the head. “Now, if you’re finished eating, take your dishes into the kitchen, head upstairs, take your baths, brush your teeth and get ready for bed. I’ll be up to tuck you in.”  
  
He watched the boys grab their dishes and run into the kitchen as he stood and carried Gus into the master bath. “All right, young man. We need to get you all clean.”  
  
“Do I get to play in the big tub, Daddy J?”  
  
Jay laughed softly. “You sure do. Just remember no splashing water all over the floor.”  
  
After cleaning up the kitchen, Jay headed back upstairs to tuck the boys into bed. He inspected all their teeth, read a story to the twins and one to Gus, tucked Danny in and kissed his forehead, and told Nathan how proud he was of him for helping out so much. Wearily, he made his way back downstairs and collapsed on the sofa. What a day! He was beginning to get worried about Brian. Where was he? He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~Woody’s~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian walked into Woody’s with a huge smile on his face. Freedom. This is what it felt like to have one night to himself without worrying about the house or the kids. It had been so long since he’d had some time to just relax, and he was going to enjoy every single second. He felt guilty about leaving Jay stuck with dealing with everything, especially on his first day out of the hospital, but he’d make it up to him. He just had to have a little time to himself before he lost his mind.

His eyes scanned the bar hungrily. It was like laying out a feast in front of a starving man. When was the last time he’d had any kind of sexual gratification that didn’t involve his hand? He shuddered and walked to the bar, leaned next to a handsome man and whispered, “I can offer you more than a drink.”

Four hours later, Brian watched as the guy left, closing the metal door with a loud bang. Why did they all think they’d get to stay? This was always the part he hated, but he wasn’t about to sleep next to a perfect stranger. He rolled over and looked at the clock. It was just after two. Shit! He needed to get home.

Brian took a quick shower, dressed and left detailed instructions for his cleaning lady. He was glad he hadn’t sold the loft. Now that he had Jay situated in his house with the kids, he figured he’d get a lot of use out of this place. He grinned happily. Who said you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too?

As he made his way down to the garage, he tried to figure out how he was going to handle having Jay in his life. He felt guilty about lying to the man, but he needed some help. He loved his kids, but he couldn’t give up his entire life for them. How could he be a good parent if he was miserable? He figured that eventually Jay would get his memory back and he’d be in for a hell of a time, but why shouldn’t he enjoy himself while he had the chance?

Brian parked in the driveway and made his way into the house. He flipped on the light and looked around in total shock. The house was clean. There were no toys littering the floor and no dishes scattered all over the place. Wow. He could actually see the top of the coffee table. His eyes finally landed on Jay. He could tell he was in trouble by the hard set on the handsome face that was glaring at him. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion. No wonder. He must have worked himself to death cleaning up the house and tending to the kids.

Guilt slammed into Brian like a brick wall. Here he’d been out having the time of his life and Jay was stuck here working until he dropped.

“Where were you?”

Brian swallowed when he heard the quietly asked question. “Well, umm…I was…okay, you see…”

“I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses, Brian. You knew I needed help with the boys and you chose to ignore that fact.”

Brian shifted under the penetrating gaze, feeling like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar after being told he couldn’t have a cookie. “I know…I just…”

“Save it.” Jay slid off the couch and walked up to stand in front of Brian. “Nothing you can say will make what you’ve done okay. It gave me time to think, so that’s something at least.”

“Jay, I really…”

Jay waved his hand and continued in a deadly calm voice, “I’m glad to see that you made it home safe and sound. I know you must have been under a lot of stress dealing with the kids while I was gone and then having to deal with my amnesia, so I’m not going to beat the hell out of you for not calling and worrying us all half to death.” He took a big breath and his nose wrinkled before his eyes clashed with Brian’s again. “However, coming home smelling like a brewery and a whorehouse, I do take offense to that. I don’t remember what problems we were having that caused me to leave you and the kids, landing myself with amnesia, but I know this…some things are going to change around here, starting right now.”

Brian’s eyes grew large. “Listen...”

“No. You listen. I don’t give a shit how you feel about me or what problems we’ve had in the past. You will not take that out on our children. You’ll come home at a reasonable hour, you’ll spend time with those boys, and you’ll reassure them that you’ll be here for them. I’m not the little woman. I won’t be your free childcare service, and I certainly won’t be your maid. You’ll either work with me to keep this family together, or I’ll leave and this time I’ll take the boys with me.”

“Don’t you threaten…”

Jay glared up into Brian’s hazel eyes. “I’m not threatening you, Brian. I just spent the entire day reassuring our children that I wouldn’t leave them. I know I fucked up by walking out, but I won’t make that mistake again, and I’m not going to kill myself to keep this family together while you play the part of party boy. If you can’t grow up and take responsibility for your family, then I will.”

Jay turned and walked toward the bedroom, pausing to look back over his shoulder at Brian. “And take a shower before you come to bed. I’m not lying next to you when you reek from having sex with another man.”  


 


	5. A New Attitude

  


Loud laughter and the smell of coffee were the first things Brian became aware of as he fought off the allure of sleep. He groaned softly and rolled onto his side to look at the bedside clock. When he saw the time, his eyes grew wide with panic. What were the boys still doing here at eight in the morning?  
  
He jumped up and put on his robe, following the sound of laughter. He found his family in the dining room, sitting around a table loaded with food. All laughter stopped as his boys looked up at him.  
  
“Morning, Dad,” they all finally chorused together.  
  
He grumbled a greeting and sat in the empty chair at the head of the table, forgetting in moment of shock that the kids should be in school.  
  
Nathan passed a bowl with some very colorful scrambled eggs. “Dad, you have to try these eggs. Daddy J calls this a scrambled omelet.”  
  
Brian eyed the bowl dubiously and dipped some onto his plate with a grimace. “I’m sure it’s wonderful.”  
  
“You have to eat some fruit, too,” ordered Danny.  
  
“Daddy J, says we gots to eat heffy,” informed Gus around a mouthful of food.  
  
“We also have to use proper table manners and not eat with our mouths full,” said Jay with a wink.  
  
Gus swallowed quickly. “Sorry, Daddy J.”  
  
“Much better, Gus. I’m proud of the way you’re using good table manners.” Jay took a sip of coffee.  
  
Brian watched as Gus’ little chest puffed out in pride and finally lifted his head to look into Jay’s eyes. “Good morning, Jay.”  
  
Jay huffed and brushed his longish bangs out of his eyes. “Morning, Brian.”  
  
After adding some of the chopped fruit to his plate and grabbing a piece of toast, Brian looked around at all the glowing faces. He’d never seen his kids so happy and animated. There weren’t any frowns, pouts or mean expressions. He focused on the conversation going on around him.  
  
“We get to pick regular clothes?” asked Nathan.  
  
Jay nodded and smiled. “Yes you do. I want you to get some jeans, t-shirts, shorts and swim trunks.”  
  
“I can’t swim, Daddy J,” said Gus as he bit his bottom lip.  
  
“What?” Jay looked at Gus and grinned. “Then I guess I’ll just have to teach you.”  
  
Gus’ eyes lit up. “Yay! I get to swim.”  
  
“He’s not gonna mess up my fun. I’m not getting stuck in the kiddy pool with him,” groused Chad.  
  
Jay cleared his throat and looked at Chad with a stern expression. “Chad, apologize to Gus. I’ve already told you that I won’t put up with you picking on him because he’s younger.”  
  
Brian winced and waited for the explosion he knew was about to erupt. Chad had a temper like a wounded bear and for a second he felt sorry for Jay. His jaw dropped when he heard Chad apologize in a subdued voice. He blinked a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him as Jay leaned over and ruffled Chad’s hair.  
  
“I’m really proud of you, Chad. It takes a big man to apologize and admit when he’s wrong.” Jay’s face glowed with pride as he smiled at the boy.  
  
Chad’s little face morphed from a petulant expression into a huge smile. “You think I’m a man, Daddy J.”  
  
Jay nodded. “I think you just acted very manly, Chad, but promise me you won’t grow up too fast. I’d miss my little boy.”  
  
Chad slid out of his chair and ran to Jay, hugging him around his waist. “I promise, Daddy J.”  
  
Jay hugged the little boy tightly. “Go finish your breakfast. We have a lot to do today.”  
  
Brian blinked, placed his palm on his forehead to check for a fever, finding nothing unusual about his temperature and scratched his chin. What was going on here? These boys looked like his kids, sounded like his kids, but they certainly weren’t acting like his kids.  
  
“Hey Dad, we are going shopping for school clothes. Are you coming with us?” asked Charlie.  
  
Brian looked at the boy. “You have plenty of clothes. Why do you need more?”  
  
Jay coughed. “They need normal school clothes, Brian. None of the other kids are wearing Armani to school.”  
  
“I see.” Brian looked around the table again and saw the worried expressions on the boys’ faces. “I guess we just have to buy new clothes, then don’t we?”  
  
Jay noticed the way the boys were soaking up the attention from Brian. He’d been looking forward to the shopping trip, but maybe Brian needed some time alone with the kids. “Listen guys, Brian is going to take you shopping today. I have some errands to run.”  
  
“I want you to come too, Daddy J,” stated Gus in an almost whiny voice.  
  
“I’d love to come, Gus, but I need to buy some groceries. I thought we’d have tacos for lunch.”  
  
“Tacos! Yes,” yelled the twins, pumping their arms in the air.  
  
Brian cleared his throat. “I don’t see why we can’t shop for clothes and then for the groceries.” He stared into Jay’s eyes and smiled. “As a family.”  
  
Jay felt his cheeks heating up as he gazed into Brian’s eyes. No matter what happened, he still thought Brian was the sexiest man he’d ever seen. “I think that’s a great idea.”  
  
Brian felt his stomach flutter. Jay was an extremely handsome man, but when he blushed, it did strange things to Brian’s libido. “Maybe we could,” he paused and swallowed hard not really believing he was about to suggest this, “go to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch.”  
  
Pandimonium broke out as the twins, Gus and Danny all screamed, “YES.”   
  
Nate rolled his eyes. “Great. Just what I’ve always wanted…to eat lunch with a huge rat.”  
  
Brian grinned at his oldest son, because that’s about how he felt about the situation too, but he quickly schooled his expression into one of indifference. Today was going to be hell. First, he’d have to deal with the boys shopping for clothes. He’d also stupidly agreed to help with the grocery shopping. Finally, he’d gone completely mad and suggested taking them all out for lunch. Images of the boys running through the stores, screaming, tossing merchandise, knocking over displays and fighting in the middle of the aisles blending with images of them sitting around a table screaming, throwing food, spilling drinks and laughing at him evilly with mouths full of food.  
  
“I’ll drop you off at the mall this weekend, Nathan. I figure you’ll deserve a little time to yourself after helping out with your brothers this week.” Jay winked at Nate.  
  
Nate’s scowl quickly turned into a smile. “Thanks, Daddy J. I promise to help.”  
  
Brian took a bite of his scrambled omelet, discovering it was actually delicious as his confused mind tried to make sense out of what was happening with his kids. Before he knew it, he’d finished everything on his plate.  
  
“If you’re all finished eating take your dishes into the kitchen and let’s get into the van.” Jay stood and carried his dishes into the kitchen, helping each boy load their dishes into the dishwasher.  
  
In no time at all, everyone was loading into the van and Brian was driving toward the Big Q. He wrinkled his nose and glanced occasionally at Jay who was talking to the kids. What the hell had happened? The boys had never liked anyone he’d hired to take care of them. Now, all of a sudden, they’re acting like perfect little angels for someone he picked up from the mental ward at the hospital. Of course, that didn’t say much for his mental state that he’d leave his kids with a perfect stranger, but he’d figured the boys would rip the poor guy to shreds and then he’d be there to comfort him. Damn it, he’d been looking forward to comforting Jay, but nothing was going according to his careful plan. Okay, so it hadn’t been carefully planned. He’d basically pulled the plan out of his ass, but he’d still had expectations and none of them were happening.  
  
“When we get to the store, you boys will hold hands and stay close to us. If you don’t act like the little gentlemen I know you are, we’ll go straight home. We’re not going to reward you with lunch if you can’t behave maturely.”  
  
Gus leaned forward. “What’s ma-churly, Daddy J?”  
  
“It means you act like a little man.” Jay laughed and reached back to pat Gus’ knee.  
  
Brian rolled his eyes and bit his lower lip. He’d told the boys to call him Daddy J, but did they have to do it with such enthusiasm? What was he…fucking chopped liver? This morning had been great so far. The kids were behaving and Jay handled every problem with ease. He let out a little breath as he felt the sadness welling in the pit of his stomach. He’d done a shit job as a father and it hurt that a stranger was a better father to his kids than he’d been so far.  
  
Jay heard the sigh and focused his attention on Brian. Why had he ever left this man? Granted, he wouldn’t put up with behavior like last night for very long, but somehow he just knew he was used to getting his own way, so why had he given up on his family? None of this made any sense to him, but he was more determined than ever to make this work. He reached over and laid his hand on Brian’s knee giving it a gentle squeeze. When Brian glanced at him, he smiled and whispered, “What do you say about us starting over?”  
  
Brian looked into Jay’s blue eyes for a moment before he had to redirect his attention back to driving. He gave a little nod of his head since he was a bit too choked up at the moment to speak.  
  
The rest of the day seemed to pass in a blur for Brian. He’d watched Jay deal with helping the boys pick out their clothes, making them try on each pair of jeans before deciding on which ones to purchase. He’d nodded at all the appropriate places and smiled at all the appropriate times, but he’d felt like an outsider trying to worm his way into his own family. The boys all looked to Jay for his opinion and asked his permission to do things. Hell, it was like he’d just been dragged along to shell out the cash and lug the bags.  
  
Things hadn’t gotten any better at Chuck E. Cheese. His children had all behaved better than any kids he’d ever been around. Jay only had to correct a few of their table manners and they’d listened to him without a fuss. As if all that weren’t bad enough, it hadn’t helped his mood any that he’d hated the place and its loud music, screaming kids, and the annoying giant rat that kept popping up all over the place. What had he been thinking when he’d suggested this place? Oh, right. He hadn’t been thinking…well not with his brain at any rate. No, he’d seen that bright smile light up Jay’s handsome face and lost his fucking mind.  
  
Brian sighed as he pulled the van into his driveway…home at last. He laid his head against the steering wheel and listened as the kids all climbed out, grabbing bags and following Jay into the house. When had he lost control of this situation? He blew a puff of air out and closed his eyes. He’d unwittingly created a monster. Jay wasn’t just sitting around wallowing in self-pity and turning to Brian to save him. No. Jay was thriving and taking over every part of Brian’s life. He wanted to really hate the little shit for not following the plan, but he’d already forgotten what the plan was supposed to be. He slowly climbed out of the van and headed into the house. He’d never backed down from a fight in his life and if little Mr. Sunshine thought he was going to keep the upper hand in this arrangement, he had another think coming.  
  
Brian smiled for the first time since breakfast. He wasn’t going to just sit around and let Jay take over his life. "Hang it up, Sunshine…Poppa’s got a brand new bag," he whispered.   



	6. A New Plan

Brian woke up the next morning before the alarm. After spending a few sleepless hours devising a new plan, he felt much better about the situation. He quietly slipped from the bed, making sure not to wake Jay, and turned off the alarm. He dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt before heading into the kitchen. He smiled as he pulled out the frozen waffles. Maybe he couldn’t cook as well as Jay, but he was an expert at toasting waffles. After getting things set up and ready, he rushed upstairs to wake the boys. He was amazed at how well the kids cooperated when he explained that he was trying to surprise Daddy J.  
  
Half an hour later, the boys were all dressed in their new school clothes and sitting around the table. Brian had a large serving dish piled high with toasted waffles and another plate filled with ‘ants on logs’ which were bananas spread with peanut butter and covered with raisins. What he lacked in culinary skills, he more than made up for in creative flair.  
  
He poured two cups of coffee and carried them to the table, placing one by Jay’s plate. He was about to wake Jay when the bedroom door burst open and a slightly dazed blond rushed out. Brian smiled and motioned him toward his seat at the table. “Good morning, Sunshine. You’re just in time.”  
  
Jay looked around at the boys, mumbled, “Morning,” and took his seat.   
  
Brian put a waffle on Gus’ plate, cut it into finger slices and added a little pool of syrup. He dished up two banana logs and placed the plate in front of the youngest boy. “There you go, Sonny Boy.”  
  
Gus smiled. “Thanks Dad.”  
  
Brian smiled at the rest of the children. “Eat up, boys. You don’t want to be late for school.”  
  
After breakfast, Jay volunteered to take the boys to school, so Brian called Cynthia to inform her that he wouldn’t be in and instructed her to deal with any problems. He went outside, drove his car to the backyard and parked it on the concrete court that was used to play both basketball and tennis. For his plan to work, he needed to be assured of privacy. He grabbed some buckets out of the shed, pulled the hosepipe out next to the car and collected the necessary supplies. He had a specially designed car wash soap, wax, wash mitts, and soft towels that he used to wash his car. After everything was ready outside, he went inside to get himself prepared.  
  
He jogged into the bedroom and pulled out an old, ripped and faded pair of jean shorts that he hadn’t worn since college. He quickly changed and tugged the almost too tight shorts over his hips. He checked in the mirror to see how much of his ass could be seen through the rips and grinned with satisfaction. Look out Sunshine; I plan on putting on a private show for your eyes only that will have your cock so hard you’ll be begging me to fuck you. Next, he selected a white sleeveless muscle shirt and slipped it over his head, looking in the mirror to get the final result. After studying himself for a moment, he nodded and stated, “I’d fuck me.”  
  
He heard the van pull into the garage and walked into the kitchen to finish cleaning up the dishes from breakfast. He’d just started the dishwasher when Jay came in through the garage door.  
  
Jay stopped and stared at Brian for a moment before stuttering, “I – I um thought you were g-gone.”  
  
“What gave you that idea,” asked Brian, lifting an eyebrow.  
  
Jay’s eyes kept roaming up and down Brian’s body and he felt himself harden. Why did the man have to be so damn sexy? “Well, your car w-was gone.”  
  
Brian turned and bent over more than was necessary to return the dishwashing tablets to their place under the kitchen sink, but he wanted to make sure that Jay had a good long look at his ass. He finally stood up and looked over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna wash my car, so I moved it ‘round back.”  
  
“I-I see. So, you um usually dress like this to wash your car?” Jay swallowed hard and tried to calm his racing heart.  
  
Brian smiled. “No, I usually wash my car in the nude, but I figured I’d wear something since you’d be home.”  
  
Jay’s eyes grew wide and he blinked a few times trying to dispel the image of a naked Brian that kept flashing before his eyes. “N-nude? You wash your car in the nude?”  
  
“Sure. We’re pretty secluded here. Besides, why have wet clothes rubbing against your body when you can strip off and feel the water on your bare skin?” Brian slowly rubbed a hand across his stomach, pushing the t-shirt higher to reveal a small patch of lightly bronzed skin. “Personally, I love feeling the sun on my skin and hosing the sweat off my body.”  
  
If you’d ask Jay a few seconds ago if he could get any harder, his answer would have been a resounding ‘no’, however he’d have been wrong. He felt for certain he was going to explode through the fabric of his cargos any second. “H-hose…s-sweat…b-body.”  
  
Brian licked his lips slowly, enjoying the reaction he was getting from Jay. “Oh yeah. I love the shock of the cold water hitting my over heated skin, washing away all the sweat and making my skin tingle.”  
  
Jay swallowed so hard he thought he’d swallowed his tongue. “T-tingle is good.”  
  
Brian turned to keep Jay from seeing the smile on his face. “I’m gonna head out back and get to work. What are you going to do today?”  
  
“No plans. I was thinking of taking a swim later.”  
  
“When I’m finished with the car, I’ll join you in the pool.” Brian walked out of the kitchen, opened the patio doors and sauntered to his car with a huge grin plastered on his face. Let the fun begin.   
  
Brian slowly bent over and picked up the hose with the high pressure nozzle and started wetting down his car.  
  
Jay stared out at Brian and tried to keep his jaw from dropping. He was going to have a heart attack, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the man that was supposed to be his husband. The longer he looked, the more intense the urge became to draw what he was seeing. He wasn’t sure why he had the urge, but he searched through the shelf that held the games until he found some colored pencils and paper. He put his supplies on the table and went into the bedroom to change into some shorts. He’d need to get as close to his subject as possible, so why not lounge around the pool?  
  
Brian noticed the second Jay emerged from the house. He already has his bucket full of sudsy water and was ready to start his one man show. He waited until Jay was sitting on the lounge chair before he started washing the car, making sure to slosh plenty of the soapy water on himself.  
  
Jay placed the paper and pencils on the table and let his eyes wonder over Brian’s form. The sun wasn’t even high in the sky yet, but it felt unseasonably warm to Jay. He shifted in the lounge chair and tried to find a comfortable spot.  
  
After making sure he had Jay’s full attention, Brian sprayed water straight up in the air, letting it cascade over his body. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, standing under the spray as if he were standing in a spring shower.  
  
Jay felt almost hypnotized. The sunlight was glistening off the water making little rainbows of color surround Brian. His eyes followed the drops of water as they slid down Brian’s neck. He’d really love to lick that water off. Where had that thought come from?  
  
Brian turned off the spray, dropped the hose and pulled his soaked, clingy t-shirt over his head to reveal his wet chest. He resumed washing the car, bending to give Jay the best possible view of his ass. After working his way around the car, Brian decided it was time to up the ante in his little game, so he unbuttoned his jean shorts and slowly slid the zipper down. He was facing Jay, but he kept his head turned as if he were studying his car. As soon as he had the zipper all the way down, he gripped the wet denim and pushed it down over his hips. The shorts were so tight and clingy that he had to wiggle his ass a little to free himself from the restricting cloth.  
  
Jay’s mouth fell open and his heart stopped beating. His first glimpse of a nude Brian was probably going to be the last thing he ever saw. Due to his shock, he leaned back from the table and accidently leaned too far, causing the back of his chair to give way and he flopped back into a lying position. He couldn’t breathe. After a moment of panic, he struggled to sit up, pulling the back of the lounge chair into an upright position. He was sucking air into his lungs violently, trying to regain some semblance of composure. His hand fumbled around on the table until his fingers closed around one of the pencils. He felt his hand moving over the paper, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Brian long enough to see what he was drawing.  
  
Brian bent down and picked up the hose and washed the soap off the car. He pulled an old green lawn chair over and climbed up on it so he could wash the roof of the car. He knew Jay had an unobstructed view, so he spent a lot of time washing one spot.  
  


Jay’s hand moved faster and faster over the paper, capturing the Godlike vision his eyes were devouring. If his mind hadn’t been consumed with fantasies about the man leisurely washing his car, he’d have been amazed and shocked at how easily he was capturing the image on paper. He could almost taste the glistening skin as he imagined his tongue licking up that long neck. His fingers itched with the desire to glide across the wet tanned skin.

Brian finished his job and gracefully hopped out of the chair, picking up the hose and rinsing the soap from his car. He took a moment to admire his work before once again aiming the hose upwards and spraying water high into the air. He shivered as the cold drops made contact with his skin, but kept his eyes closed and allowed the water to wash over his body. He shook his head from side to side, sending a cascade of drops flying about his face. After a moment, he lifted the hose high into the air and sprayed the water directing it on the top of his head.

Jay dropped the pencil as he stared unabashedly at his husband. He’d never felt a desire so strongly in all his life. Even if he had no memory of his past, he just new he’d never wanted anyone as badly as he wanted the man standing naked, wet and excited only ten feet in front of him. He stood and started walking toward Brian before he consciously registered what he was doing. It felt like his body was on auto-pilot and had instructions to go home.

Brian opened his eyes and watched as Jay walked across the yard in his direction. He swallowed when he saw the fire in Jay’s eyes. With each step that brought them closer and closer together, Brian felt his heart skip a beat. His fingers released the hose and it clattered to the cement, but he never took his eyes off Jay’s.

With a determination born from a desire stronger than anything he’d ever known, Jay walked right up to Brian, reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss. Right before their lips touched, Jay groaned, “I’m going to fuck you.”  


 


	7. A New Assignation

Brian felt an electrical current run from his lips directly to his cock. He couldn’t prevent the moan that rumbled from his throat and was lost in Jay’s wicked mouth. Warm hands were sliding over his slightly chilled skin that was still wet from the hosepipe shower, and he couldn’t contain the shiver that rippled through his body as he unconsciously stepped farther into Jay’s embrace.  
  
Jay deepened the kiss and tightened his arms around Brian’s waist; pulling him closer. He felt the water seep into his t-shirt from the hard, wet chest that was pressing against him. He could feel Brian’s erection jutting against his stomach and slid one of his hands down over the firm ass cheeks, trailing a finger along the cleft. He broke the kiss and nibbled Brian’s bottom lip for a moment before whispering, “I can’t wait to be buried deep inside you.”  
  
Brian slid his fingers through Jay’s silky hair, pulling his head back a bit. “I think you mean that you can’t wait to feel me buried deep inside you.”  
  
Jay moved his other hand down to grip Brian’s other cheek, squeezing both mounds of flesh and spreading the cheeks. “No, I said exactly what I meant. I’m going to fuck you so hard.”  
  
“I don’t think so, Sunshine.” Brian mirrored Jay’s movements and squeezed the bubble butt he’d been admiring.  
  
Jay leaned back a bit and looked into Brian’s eyes. “I realize that I’ve lost my memory, but I do believe I’d know whether I preferred to top or bottom and trust me, I’m a top.”  
  
“You bottom for me.” Brian returned Jay’s stare.  
  
“I’m sure I do, but that means that you bottom for me as well. There is no way I’d be in a relationship where I bottomed exclusively.” Jay tilted his head.  
  
Brian swallowed. What the hell? How was he supposed to handle this situation? He couldn’t refuse or Jay would become suspicious, and he really couldn’t afford for him to start asking too many questions. Brian took a deep breath and added more lies to the already mile long list. “You’re right and that’s one of the biggest problems we’ve always had in our relationship. I know I said I’d work on it, so…” He shrugged his shoulders and left the rest unsaid. He couldn’t quite bring himself to admit that he was about to let another man take the lead.  
  
Jay smiled brightly. “I knew there had to be something that drove us apart and that would do it.” He nodded and winked. “I think we should start over. We’ll consider today to be our first time together and go from there.”  
Brian gave a little nod and allowed himself to be pulled toward the house. If only Jay knew how true his words were, he wouldn’t be so quick to renew their nonexistent relationship. When had he lost complete control of this situation and why wasn’t he more upset about it?  
  
Jay led the way into their bedroom and gently shoved Brian back on the bed. “You look so sexy spread out like that.”  
  
Brian shivered beneath the heated expression in Jay’s eyes. He’d never felt so unsure and excited by a situation all at the same time. His legs slid open a bit farther, and he raised his arms above his head, looking up at Jay with half closed eyes. When he heard the little whimpering noise coming from Jay’s throat, his lips curved into a smile as he enjoyed the sense of power he felt.  
  
Jay stripped the t-shirt over his head as quickly as possible, not wanting to take his eyes off his prize for one second longer than necessary. He shoved his shorts down and kicked them away, before slowly climbing onto the bed between Brian’s spread thighs.  
  
Brian’s back arched as he felt the wet hot suction on his nipple. His fingers tangled in blond hair as his hips thrust upwards in a vain attempt to relieve the sexual tension snaking throughout his body. When that wickedly evil tongue moved lower, drawing intricately erotic patterns on his quivering skin, he actually whimpered as his need intensified.  
  
Jay placed open mouth kisses all along the length of turgid flesh before engulfing it completely with one swift downward plunge of his head. His throat protested for a fraction of a second before opening and encompassing the invader like a welcomed friend. How had he forgotten something as enticing and revitalizing as this?  
  
Brian heard the sexy little noises without even realizing they were coming from deep within his chest. His eyes were clenched shut and he was slowly rocking his head back and forth as he tried to divest all the sensual shocks bombarding not only his body, but seemingly to captivate his soul. He’d never felt so out of control, but some small part of his brain registered that he wasn’t afraid. He felt a finger penetrate him, causing his hips to jerk upwards and ripped a groan from his throat.  
  
All too soon for his liking, Brian felt Jay’s mouth moving back up his chest and the only thing he could manage was to clutch his fingers around his lover’s shoulders as he felt another slick finger pressing inside. His body seemed somehow disconnected from his brain, because it responded to every touch and lick with a veraciousness he wasn’t aware he possessed.  
  
Jay slid his fingers free, rolled the condom on, lifted Brian’s legs and positioned himself. He slowly pushed inside feeling the wet heat that surrounded his aching flesh, stopping only to regain control of his overloaded senses before inching deeper and deeper, losing himself in the mind blowing sensations.  
  
Brian’s eyes rolled back as he felt himself being stretched. His hips shifted; whether it was to accept the pleasurable sensations of being filled or his body trying to avoid the slight painful pinch that it wasn’t accustomed to, he wasn’t sure, but at the moment, he needed something more and didn't have a clue how to ask for it.  
  
Jay continued to press forward until he was completed buried. “You’re fucking amazing.”  
  
Brian’s fingers tightened on Jay’s back, pulling and clutching at the same time. He wanted…he needed…he grunted, “More.”  
  
Jay pulled back and watched Brian writhe beneath him, creating a perfect picture of lust and need, before easing his hips forward, sinking back into sensual oblivion. “Oh, fuck.”  
  
Brian felt his body clenching around Jay’s length and moaned. His mind was floating and his body felt like it was consumed by liquid heat that was being stoked to hotter temperatures with each hard thrust. When he felt cool fingers circling his dick, he arched his back, trying to thrust more of his flesh into Jay’s hand. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was panting, “Not gonna last.”   
  
Jay rubbed his thumb across the tip and squeezed as he lunged forward over and over. “Me either. I want to see you come.”  
  
Brian felt Jay hit something inside him that shot electric sparks through his groin. He arched and cried out as he spilled over his lover’s hand.  
  
Jay watched Brian’s pleasure and joined his lover as he felt the muscles clenching around him. He eased out, took off the condom, tied it off and tossed it in the trash can by the bed. He collapsed onto Brian’s chest feeling boneless and happier than he’d ever felt in his life…well that he could remember.   
  
Brian wrapped his arms around Jay, holding him tightly as he struggled to get his breathing under control. Why had he never done this before? Was it always like this or was it just because he was with Jay? He brushed the hair off his lover’s forehead and gasped, “Amazing.”  
  
Jay rubbed his cheek against Brian’s chest and chuckled. “You can say that again.”  
  
“What do you say about us taking a shower and then taking a nap before the boys come home?” asked Brian, rubbing circles on Jay’s back.  
  
Jay groaned and rolled off the bed, reaching back to pull Brian up with him. “Come on then. I hear a shower calling our names.”  
  
Forty-five minutes and two blow jobs later, they were spooned together on the bed. Jay pressed back against Brian’s body. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so good.”  
  
Brian tightened his arms around Jay, mumbled, “Um huh,” and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.  
  
Brian opened his eyes when he felt a tickling sensation against his nose. He jerked his head back before he remembered that he was curled around Jay’s body.  
  
Jay was jerked from sleep by the sudden movement and yawned. “What time is it?”  
  
Brian turned his head and looked at the clock. “It’s just after one.”  
  
Jay stretched. “I’m starving. Want some chicken pasta salad?”  
  
“I could eat.” He leaned over and kissed Jay.  
  
Jay rolled out of bed, grabbed his discarded shorts, slipping them on before he headed for the kitchen. “I’ll have it ready in about half an hour.”  
  
Jay hummed softly to himself as he prepared lunch. Maybe he shouldn’t worry so much about regaining his memories and just start fresh. After all, it seemed like he had everything he’d ever wanted, so why did something feel so off? He had a gorgeous husband, sex that was beyond mind blowing, five terrific sons, a great house and obviously a comfortable lifestyle, but why did he feel like something was missing?  
  
While he waited on the pasta to cook, he stepped out onto the patio and saw the drawing. He picked it up and looked at it. He couldn’t believe he’d actually drawn something this good. Maybe this was what he was lacking. He nodded and carried the drawing back into the house along with all the colored pencils. First thing tomorrow, he’d buy himself some proper art supplies. He laid the drawing on the table and finished cooking lunch.  
  
Brian walked in and wrapped his arms around Jay’s waist, kissing him on the side of the neck. “It smells great.”  
  
Jay turned and smiled. “Fix us a couple of drinks and go sit down. It’s almost finished.”  
  
Brian kissed Jay’s neck again and grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet. He opened the fridge and took out the pitcher of lemonade, carrying it all to the table and taking a seat.   
  
As he sat the pitcher on the table, he saw the drawing. He picked it up and stared at it. He was impressed.   
  
  
  
Jay carried in a large bowl of pasta, two plates and two forks. “I made enough for the boys to have some after school if they’re hungry.”  
  
Brian nodded and pointed to the drawing. “You’re really very good.”  
  
“Thanks. I was thinking of getting some supplies and trying my hand at painting.”  
  
Brian took the bowl of pasta. “You should. I think you’d be terrific at it.”  
  
Jay scooped pasta onto his own plate and grinned. “I think I’ll enjoy it and it’ll give me something to do with my time.”  
  
“I want you to be happy, Jay. I hope you know that.” Brian ducked his head wondering why he’d said that out loud.  
  
“I know this sounds crazy, but I just know I’m where I was always meant to be. I still can’t remember anything and I’m not sure I ever will, but I know I belong here with you and the kids.”  
  
Brian felt the burn of guilt ripping through him. He had just compounded the problem by having sex with Jay, and sooner or later things would come out. He knew this wouldn’t last, but for the first time in his life, he wanted a stable relationship. Right now, he wasn’t sure who was crazier, but he did know that he’d just experienced something beyond anything he’d ever known and he wasn’t willing to give that up without a fight. If Jay got his memories back, he’d deal with the consequences of his actions, but until then, he planned on living each day to the fullest.  
  
“You’re exactly where you belong, Jay…with your family.”   



	8. A New Development

  


Brian could hardly wait for the boys to go to bed that night. He was anxious to have his turn in this new versatile relationship. So, after a day spent helping Jay with household chores and then helping with kids, he was more than ready to retire. He sauntered into the bedroom with a smile plastered on his face. “I thought they’d never go to sleep.”  
  
Jay looked up and nodded. “Yeah, it seems that the more you want them to go to sleep, the harder it is to actually get them to do it.”  
  
Brian smirked and sat down on the bed. “I think you and I have some unfinished business from this afternoon, don’t you?”  
  
Jay smiled, pulled his shirt over his head and straddled Brian’s legs, hugging him tightly. “I think I can be talked into a repeat performance.”  
  
Jay kissed Brian hard, pushed his shirt up and raked his nails across Brian’s nipples. He dipped his head and used his lips, tongue and teeth to tease and tantalize. His motions were frenzied as if he couldn’t get enough. He pulled back and gave a mighty shove against Brian’s chest, following his lover down and attacking his neck once again.  
  
Brian moaned and grabbed handfuls of Justin’s hair, trying to guide those lips where he wanted them to go, but unable to deter his partner in any way. “It’s my turn, Jay.”  
He sounded like a spoiled child not getting his own way even to his own ears, so it was no surprise when Jay chuckled. “It doesn’t matter whose turn it is; I want you and I’m going to have you.”  
  
Brian groaned as he felt fingers wrapping around his steadily hardening cock. His body didn’t seem to care who was in the lead as long as it got what it needed. He finally gave up struggling for dominance and just allowed himself to feel all the sensations that trickled over his skin with every movement of Jay’s talented hands and mouth.  
  
It was a shock to his system when he felt that hot wet mouth engulf his aching erection. How did that happen? His mind refused to linger on such thoughts as his body hummed with pleasure.  
  
When he felt a slick finger push inside, he was already too far gone to protest. His head lolled back and he closed his eyes, moaning softly with every push into his body. When had he lost control so completely?  
  
Jay used his tongue to swirl around Brian’s length as he gently pushed two fingers deeper inside his lover’s ass. He loved hearing those sounds that Brian made each time he brushed against that little spot.  
  
He shoved Brian’s legs up and went back to the task at hand. When he felt Brian start to tense and his moans became a bit more urgent, he lifted his head and removed his fingers simultaneously. He grabbed a condom and rolled it on, then lubed up his fingers a bit more, making sure to spread the lube generously over his own erection.  
  
Jay smiled down at Brian as he positioned himself and pushed inside. He stilled momentarily to allow the sensation of being encased in heat to register in his dazed mind. He loved being inside this man. It was an experience like nothing else he could imagine. His eyes slid closed and he bit his lip as he tried to maintain control of his body.  
  
Brian moaned and fought the urge to close his eyes as he looked up at Jay. The blissful expression on Jay’s face only turned him on more. In no time, he was lifting his hips silently begging for more.  
  
Jay moved his hips, complying with Brian’s silent plea until he’d set a brutal pace. His fingers squeezed the slightly muscular thighs as his hips slammed against Brian over and over. The intense pace sent Brian over the edge first, moaning his pleasure and Jay followed immediately.   
  
Jay slid out and took care of the condom before lying on top of Brian with a contented smile. “I love being inside you.”  
  
“Of course you do.” Brian rubbed his hands down Jay’s back.  
  
“I hope I wasn’t too rough.” Jay kissed Brian gently.  
  
Brian grunted and shifted slightly under Jay’s weight. “I’ll definitely be feeling it for a couple of days.”  
  
Jay smiled brightly. “In other words, if I want to have sex any time soon, I’ll have to bottom.”  
  
“Exactly,” said Brian as he gave Jay’s ass a hard smack.  
  
The next morning, Jay watched Brian shifting uncomfortably in the dining room chair. He walked to the living room, grabbed a pillow off the couch and carried it to his partner. “Use this.”  
  
Brian took the small pillow and placed it on the chair, sitting down slowly. “Thanks.”  
  
Jay leaned over and kissed Brian.  
  
“Get a room you guys. There are children present,” groused Nate.  
  
Brian grinned at his oldest son. “I thought you were a man now.”  
  
“I wasn’t talking about me.” Nate rolled his eyes.  
  
“Does this mean Daddy J is gonna stay with us?” asked Charlie with a hopeful expression.  
  
Jay reached over and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Of course I’m staying. I promise I won’t leave you again.”  
  
Gus was bouncing in his chair. “We are taking school pictures next week.”  
  
“I definitely want some pictures of you, Gus.” Jay looked at Brian. “Why aren’t there any pictures of us around the house?”  
  
Brian coughed and almost spit his coffee all over the table. “Pictures?”  
  
Jay nodded. “I’ve seen pictures of the boys and you, but there isn’t a single picture of me.”  
  
Brian bit the inside of his mouth and looked at the boys. He couldn’t panic. “Well, you see.” He shifted in his chair and grimaced. “I destroyed them all.”  
  
Jay stared at Brian with his mouth hanging open. “You destroyed them?”  
  
“I didn’t want any reminders.” Brian looked down at his plate.  
  
Jay swallowed and closed his eyes. How badly had he hurt Brian when he left? He had so many questions, but it was clear that Brian didn’t like to talk about it. His fingers clenched the napkin tightly. “I’m sorry, Brian.”  
  
Brian raised his head and looked at Jay’s bowed head. He didn’t like hearing the sadness in the other man’s voice. He’d created this mess, so he’d take the blame for their supposed break-up. “It wasn’t your fault, Jay.”  
  
Danny leaned forward. “Can I have some more French toast, Daddy J?”  
  
Jay blinked and looked up at Danny. “You can have as much as you like.”  
  
Brian took a deep breath. “Listen Jay, I don’t really want to talk about the past. I know it’s hard for you since you have no memories, but I want to start over. I admit that I created the entire fiasco that caused you to leave, but you’re back now. Can we just put the past behind us and move forward?”  
  
Jay saw the sincerity on Brian’s face and all the hopeful expressions on the boys’ faces. He’d already figured out that it might have been Brian’s promiscuous behavior and his inattentiveness to the needs of his family that had been a major factor in him leaving, so he understood why Brian wouldn’t want to discuss it. He also knew that Brian hadn’t been willing to let him lead in their sex lives before, but all that had changed. It didn’t really matter how Brian had acted before. All that mattered was how he acted now, and Jay could tell that he was honestly trying. He smiled at his lover. “We already have.”  
  
Brian looked at his family and decided it was time to start showing all of them that he was willing to do whatever it took to make them all happy. “I have a photo shoot today for an ad campaign. Why don’t you all get dressed up and come down to Kinnetik. The photographer owes me a favor, and I’ll ask him to do a family photo for us.”  
  
They all finished their breakfast, cleaned up, and went to get dressed. Brian left for work but not before giving Jay a lingering kiss. “I’ll see you soon.”  
  
Jay grinned. “I’ll be there as soon as I can get the boys ready.”  
  
“Wear that suit I bought you.” Brian grabbed his briefcase and kissed Jay again.  
  
Jay watched him drive off then headed into the bedroom to dress for the family portrait. He was so excited, because he was already planning to duplicate the picture onto a large canvas and hang it over the fireplace. After all, every family should have a portrait painted.  
  
After he finished dressing, he made sure the boys all looked presentable, loaded everyone into the van and headed for Kinnetik. When they reached the office, they all filed out and entered the building. Jay was amazed, and found that he was really proud of all that Brian had accomplished. They were ushered down the hall to a large room. The first thing Jay saw was a handsome man literally pawing all over Brian. He was shocked by the jealous rage that consumed him, so he cleared his throat very loudly.  
  
Brian looked up and smiled at his family. “There you are.” He walked over and pulled Jay against his chest and kissed those pouting lips. “Now we can get started.”  
  
Gregor walked up behind Brian. “So this is the famous or should I say, infamous Jay who stole your heart away. I must admit that I can see why you’re so smitten with him. He’s just a darling little morsel.”  
  
Brian watched as Gregor walked around Justin, looking his body over with a gleam in his eyes. “I could do so much with this body. You must let me borrow him, Brian.”  
  
Jay bristled. “I am not some piece of meat for Brian to loan out to whoever strikes his fancy.”  
  
Gregor laughed softly. “But you’re too delicious for Brian to keep all to himself, darling.”  
  
Brian stepped between the horny photographer and Jay, putting his arm around his partner’s shoulders. "You can dream, Gregor, but if you want to keep your job, I suggest you start thinking with your brain and not your dick."  
  
Gregor stepped back and held his hands in the air. “Sorry, Brian. I promise to keep my lascivious thoughts private and my hands to myself.”  
  
Brian led Jay into the room and whispered, “He’s really harmless.”  
  
“Well, if he puts his hands on you again, he might draw back a nub,” huffed Jay.  
  
Brain laughed softly. “You really are my hero.”  
  
Gregor waved them all into position, making the boys change places a couple of times before he had everyone placed the way he wanted. He aimed his camera and shouted, “Say cheese.” He started taking photos in rapid succession as he moved from one spot to the next to get different angles. He knew he needed to do a good job or Brian really would fire him.  
  
When Gregor was satisfied, Brian led his family out of the room and asked, “Do you guys want a tour?”  
  
Jay nodded enthusiastically. “I’d love to see where you work every day.”  
  
Brian showed them the conference rooms, Ted’s office and the art department. Jay loved this part of the tour the most. He walked around looking at the various projects in different stages of completion. For some reason, this felt like home to him. He even made a couple of suggestions on color and font that Brian really loved.  
  
“You know, Jay, I could use you around here if you’d like to give it a shot. I think your ideas are brilliant.”  
  
“I would love to help you out, Brian. I could come in a couple of hours a day when the boys are in school.” Jay felt his excitement escalating. This would be a perfect way for him to practice his art, and that seemed to be something that was very important to him.  
  
“You can start next week. Now, I think we should all go out for lunch. What do you say?” Brian looked at the kids.  
  
They all yelled, “Yes!”  
  
Jay noticed Gregor staring at them as the walked out of the building. For some reason, that guy gave him the creeps in more ways than one.   



	9. A New Tradition

Brian leaned back in his leather chair and looked at the framed picture sitting on his desk. His lips curved into a smile as he looked at his family…his family. He’d never really allowed himself to believe that he’d ever have a real family. Sure he’d wished for it and wanted it, but he never actually believed it would be a reality…until Jay. For awhile, he’d felt guilty for deceiving Jay, but these last few months had been filled with fun, laughter, and dare he hope, love, so there was no reason to worry about Jay, right?  
  
He rubbed his forehead as his thoughts seem to flit from one thing to another. The next thought should have sent him into a panic attack, but he had to admit that they’d settled into a somewhat domesticated bliss that he’d never had any experience with before Jay. Growing up in the orphanage hadn’t really prepared him for a family. It had given him the desire to create one, but not the proper knowledge on how to go about achieving that goal. As soon as he'd started making good money, he'd applied to be able to adopt a child and supplied the sperm for his friend Lindsay and her partner. He knew he'd have a hard time adopting with him being single and gay, but he found that if he were willing to take, what they called, the less desirable kids, he could get through a lot of red tape very quickly. Things just seemed to get out of hand. He'd visited the orphanage where he'd stayed and found that he couldn't pick just one child. He wanted to help them all, and in his exuberance, he'd walked away with four boys instead of one. Then, Lindsay had died in childbirth, and since Mel wasn't interested in raising a kid alone, he'd gotten custody of Gus. In less than a year, he'd acquired five sons.  
  
Jay was the best thing that had ever happened to him and his boys, so he refused to think about what Jay’s life had been like before. He ignored every pang of conscience wondering if Jay had someone out there looking for him. No thoughts of how he’d feel if Jay were to suddenly disappear from his life and wind up with another family who wouldn’t help him get his memories back. How did he justify all this to himself? It was simple. Now, he actually found excuses to go home early instead of hitting the bars and clubs. Each day was a new adventure and Jay was directing the whole show. For example, who knew there were so many holidays for families to get together?   
  
Brian’s thoughts immediately went to the huge Fourth of July celebration that Jay had orchestrated for their entire block.   
  
“How are those burgers coming, Brian?” Jay walked up behind Brian, who was standing at the grill, and wrapped his arms around his waist.  
  
Brian grunted and flipped another hamburger patty. “Explain to me again how I got conned into cooking all these burgers for the entire block.”  
  
Jay pressed his nose against Brian’s neck and laughed softly. “Because, and I quote…I’m not going to give some lunatic fag or overly enthusiastic breeder the opportunity to blow up my new grill and possibly burn down my house.”   
  
“And I stand behind that statement,” stated Brian, as he removed some burgers and added more to the grill.  
  
Jay squeezed Brian’s waist before grabbing the plate with the cooked meat and heading toward the large picnic table. “That’s how you wound up doing all the cooking, because I’ll gladly claim I’m a lunatic fag just to get out of doing all that work.”  
  
Brian couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he yelled after Jay. “This was your idea in the first place, so you definitely belong in the lunatic fag department.”  
  
That had been the first time that Brian had socialized with his neighbors. It seemed like everyone loved Jay. There had been two other gay couples who lived on their block and four straight couples who attended, and surprisingly enough, everyone got along.  
  
The next big block party had been Halloween. Brian chuckled softy as he remembered Jay’s antics to get him to dress up.  
  
“You have to dress up, Brian. It’s for the kids. I’m going as the Lone Ranger, so you can be Tonto.”  
  
“Even if I decided to dress up for this asinine party, there is no way in hell I’m going as Tonto, Kemosabe.”  
  
Jay laughed and kissed Brian’s cheek. “See, you’d make a great Tonto.”  
  
Brian grinned and crossed his arms across his chest. “Me no good little Indian brave, Kemosabe. Me big strong warrior.”  
  
Jay had pulled out a comic book and slapped it on the table. “I thought you’d say that.” After pausing a moment he continued, “Okay, no I had no idea you’d say anything like that, but I knew you’d refuse to be Tonto, so you can be Zorro.”  
  
Brian looked down at the comic and saw the Lone Ranger and Zorro together on the cover. “I think I could be persuaded to be Zorro.”  
  


Jay wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck. “If you dress up like Zorro, then the Lone Ranger will just have to kneel at your feet and worship your mighty sword.”

“Just make sure you don’t shoot it off with your little six shooters.”

Thinking back on it now, Brian remembered he’d been a very impressive Zorro to Jay’s Lone Ranger. Jay had looked stunning in the powder blue cowboy shirt, jeans, black leather mask, and that white cowboy hat.

Brian shook his head as he remembered how excited the boys had been that night because they’d been allowed to invite their friends from school as well as from the neighborhood. Jay had turned their house into spook central and their yard had become a cemetery. The neighbors had participated by bringing all sorts of weird, scary food and plenty of candy for the kids. There had been games, lots of silliness, plenty of laughter and even Brian had to admit that he’d had a great time.

No way could he forget Thanksgiving. It had been a three ring circus complete with ring master Jay and a horde of hungry lions. Since he’d been working part time in the art department, Jay had invited all the employees from Kinnetik that didn’t have any place to go, as well as some of the neighbors.

“Why do we always have to host these things, Jay?”

“Someone has to do it, and we have the room. Besides, the boys love it when we entertain.” Jay bent over and put a pie into the oven. “Did you see all the decorations they made?”

“You mean all those fine renditions of the fat bird gracing our dining room walls?”

Jay elbowed Brian. “You stop that. They worked hard on those, and I think they are all artistic likenesses of the festive bird.”

Brian snorted. “You can use all the fancy words you want, but the facts are simple. Our dining room looks like Walt Disney threw up a bunch of retarded turkeys.”

“What do you know? It’s obvious you don’t have an eye for artistic impressionisms.”

“Yeah. What do I know? I’m just the owner and CEO of the leading advertising company in Pittsburgh with a kickass art department that my wonderfully talented partner works in part-time.”

Jay shook his head. “You can’t butter me up. I’m impervious to your utter lack of charm that you think is so charming. You can’t criticize my children’s artwork like that and not expect some sort of recriminations.”

Brian looked at Jay with a shocked expression. He’d been joking but Jay sounded as if he thought this was serious. “Hey, they’re my kids too, and I would never be unfairly critical.”

“Too late. You’ve already earned my wrath. Nothing you can do or say will change your fate.”

Brian swallowed and tried to decide if Jay was playing or not. “What is my fate?”

Jay turned and held out a platter with the biggest turkey Brian had ever seen. “You must carry this into the dining room and prepare to carve.”

Brian took the platter and narrowed his eyes at Jay, bending down and whispering, “You’ll pay.” He walked through the swinging doors and stated in a loud voice, “Boys, Daddy J said your artwork looked like Walt Disney threw up.”

The boys all looked at one another and started laughing. Nathan finally got control of himself, looked at Brian and said, “Dad, you do know that we heard everything that was said in the kitchen, right?”

Brian looked over at Jay who looked rather smug. “Of course I knew. You didn’t actually think I’d say anything like that about your artwork unless it was all part of a joke, did you?”

The boys started laughing again, nodding their heads. Gus looked up at his father. “I know you like our paintings, Dad, because Daddy J said we were going to frame them all and hang them up in your office at work.”

The kids had loved every minute of it, and Brian had to admit that he’d enjoyed himself as he looked around his office at all the brightly colored pictures of turkeys. The food had been excellent and surprisingly he hadn’t minded having all the people crowding around their table either. He wasn’t looking forward to repeating it, but he had an entire year to get used to the idea. It seemed like it was only yesterday that his house was over-run with people and now he had Christmas to look forward to, and given Jay’s penchant for doing things large, he knew he was in for another boisterous ride.

Brian switched off his computer and packed up his briefcase. He wasn’t getting any work done, so he figured he’d head on home.

Gus practically knocked his father down as soon as Brian entered the house. “Easy there, Sonny boy.”

Gus squeezed Brian’s legs tightly. “I’m so glad you’re home. Now, we can start the party.”

Brian stiffened and looked around with a weary expression. “What party and how many people are coming?”

Gus giggled. “It’s a party for family, Daddy.”

Brian sat his briefcase down and ruffled his son’s hair. “Sounds good to me.”

Jay walked out of the kitchen and smiled. “We’re having a tree trimming party.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“It is. We have to drink hot chocolate, eat cookies, decorated the tree, and then eat popcorn while watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Brian grimaced and mouthed over Gus’s head, “The Nightmare Before Christmas?”

Jay nodded. “I let the kids pick the movie. How was I supposed to know they’d pick that?”

Brian scooped up Gus and walked over to Jay, bending and giving him a kiss. “I guess we’ll just have to suffer through it.”

Gus wiggled until his father put him down then ran upstairs screaming, “Dad’s home! Come on, we get to decorate the tree now.”

Brian was amazed at how quickly the boys could move when they wanted something. In no time, he heard the sound of five pairs of feet stomping very quickly down the stairs amid shouts of, “It’s about time, Yay hot chocolate, I get to do the star, Movie, movie, movie,” and, “Kill me now.”

Brian chucked when he heard Nate’s comment. The boy wasn’t related to him at all by blood, but they obviously shared a connection of the soul. He mumbled softly, “I’m with you, Nate.”

Jay looked up at Brian. “What was that?”

“I was just agreeing with my son.” Brian squeezed Jay’s waist.

“Let me guess. Nathan?”

Brian slapped Jay’s ass. “Let’s get this show on the road, Daddy J. I have plans for you when all the kiddies are in bed.”

Jay laughed. “I have a few plans of my own.”

Jay led everyone into the dining room where the table was ready. “I made sandwiches.” He pointed to the stacks and said, “These are chicken salad, those are ham, here’s cheese, and those are peanut butter and jelly.”

Brian looked at the stacks of finger sandwiches, the huge platter of vegetables with different dips, and the bowl of chopped fruit. “I guess we’re having ourselves a party, boys. Look at all the party food.”

A chorus of, “Yay” was followed by the boys scrambling to get into their chairs. As Nathan walked by Brian, he bumped shoulders affectionately.

Nate looked up and grinned before rolling his eyes. “Over the teeth and through the gums, look out belly cause here it comes.”

Brian laughed and whispered into Nate’s ear, “Open the hatch and dump the whole batch, hope your stomach remembers to catch.”

Nathan and Brian were both snickering as they sat down at the table, but everyone ignored them, dug into the food, and discussed how they were going to decorate the tree.  


 


	10. A New Surprise

The first thing that registered in Brian’s sleep addled brain was the giggles. He fought those off with amazing speed, but was assaulted by the smell of coffee, which was much harder to fight. Finally, his eyes popped open, only to be besieged with the bright light spilling into the room from the window and the multi-colored shirts his sons were wearing.“Wake up, Dad. We’ve brought you breakfast in bed.” Danny was bouncing in excitement.“It’s Christmas Eve, Dad. Get up already.” Chad had his arms crossed and a slight pout marred his cute face.  
  
Gus dived on top of Brian and bounced. “We have tra-gitions to make.”  
  
“That’s traditions, Gus,” corrected Nate.  
  
“Yeah, we have loads to do before Santa comes,” offered Charlie.  
  
Brian struggled into a sitting position and took the tray, fumbling for the coffee cup. “Coffee…must have coffee.”  
  
“You have coffee, Dad.” Danny pointed to the cup in Brian’s hand.  
  
Brian took a quick sip and tried to make sense of the circus in his bedroom. “So, what do you guys have planned for me today?”  
  
“Daddy J has all sorts of things planned for us today. We have to bake cookies for Santa, wrap the gifts that we bought for our friends, cook some things for tomorrow’s dinner, get any last minute shopping done, and clean the house, because Santa won’t like a dirty house.” Chad ticked the things off using his fingers.  
  
“We have to make Santa happy, Dad,” said Gus in a very serious voice.  
  
“Santa’s a big fat man that only works one night a year; he has an unlimited supply of cookies, all the milk he can drink, and a harem of elves to do his bidding. How can he be unhappy?” Brian took another sip of his coffee.  
  
Nate snorted when Gus asked, “Dad, what’s a ‘hair him’?”  
  
Brian almost choked on his coffee and Nathan bent over, holding his stomach to keep from laughing out loud, but he was still making little chuckling noises. “Yeah, Dad, what exactly is a ‘hair him’?”  
  
Brian squinted his eyes at his oldest son and glared up at him. “It’s a group of guys with really great hair.”  
  
Nathan threw his head back and laughed loudly.  
  
“What’s going on in here?” Jay walked through the door and smiled.  
  
Danny bounced over to Jay. “Dad was just telling us all about Santa’s hair him.”  
  
Jay’s face lost the smile as he quickly looked at Brian. “Exactly what did Dad tell you about Santa’s harem?”  
  
Gus crawled off the bed and ran over to hug Jay’s legs. “Just some guys with big hair. I think it’s dumb.”  
  
Jay ruffled Gus’s hair. “Well we all can’t have big hair, so those that do must need a special name, huh?”  
  
“Can we bake the cookies now?” asked Charlie.  
  
“That’s a great idea, Charlie. Okay guys, everyone out. Your Dad needs a few minutes to wake up and get dressed, so while we wait on lazy bones, we’ll start the cookies.” Jay ushered the kids out of the bedroom and turned back to wink at Brian. “Thinking about harems, are you?”  
  
Brian grinned. “How do you think I got put on the top of Santa’s naughty list?”  
  
Jay laughed and followed the boys out of the room.  
  
Brian leaned back and sipped his coffee, nibbling on his toast and eggs. He closed his eyes and savored not only the meal, but the feeling of complete contentment he felt. Even if he’d complained about hanging Christmas lights, putting up decorations and wrapping presents, he could admit to himself that this big old house finally felt like a home. His kids were happy and doing great in school, his business was prospering with the added help of Jay’s artwork, and he’d never had a more fulfilling sex life. Actually, his life would be as close to perfect as anyone’s could get if it weren’t for that little niggling fear in the back of his mind. What if Jay got his memory back?  
  
He finished his breakfast, took a quick shower, got dressed and carried the tray back to the kitchen where he found all his boys cutting, rolling, mixing, and baking cookies. He put the tray next to the sink and walked up to Jay, gently brushing some flour off his nose before kissing him deeply. He finally broke the kiss and whispered, “I hope that was flour you had on your nose and not some illegal substance.”  
  
Jay laughed a bit breathlessly. “I think I’d be having more fun if it weren’t flour.”  
  
“Good point.” Brian released Jay and looked around at the boys. “So, what are you guys supposed to be…the little cookie elves?”  
  
Gus giggled and clapped his hands. “Yes! I’m a cookie elves.”  
  
“You look more like a snowman.” Brian picked up his youngest son, holding him out at arm’s length. “I’m gonna go hose down the little snowman while you get the rest of these elves to help you clean up.”  
  
Jay grinned. “Thanks. I was beginning to wonder if this was such a great idea, but they’ve had so much fun, and they made you special cookies.”  
  
Brian rolled his eyes. “Oh great, more calories for me to work off.”  
  
Jay wiggled his eyebrows and whispered, “I know just how you can work those off, too.”  
  
Brian carried Gus into the master bath and lowered him into the tub. “Strip little man. We need to get you hosed off.”  
  
Gus quickly pulled off his clothes and Brian tossed them into the hamper. “Stand back at the end of the tub so I can get the water temperature right.”  
  
Gus moved to the end of the tub and looked up at his father. “Dad, is Daddy J going to leave us?”  
  
Brian froze at hearing his own fear being asked by his youngest son. “I promise to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen, Gus.” He finally got the water temperature right and plugged the tub.  
  
Gus sat down in the water and rubbed his eyes. “I’m scared. What if he has a little boy of his own and he leaves us?”  
  
Brian closed his eyes tightly. He had never once considered that Jay might have a child of his own. What if he did have another family? What if he had a little boy or girl missing him? He cleared his suddenly blocked throat. “I’ll figure it out, Gus. If he does have a little boy of his own, we’ll bring him here to live with us.”  
  
That seemed to satisfy Gus, but it did nothing to quell Brian’s fears. He stepped into the bedroom and retrieved his cell phone, going back into the bathroom and turning off the water. “You wash off quietly, Gus. Daddy has to make a call.”  
  
Brian closed the bathroom door and sat down on the toilet, hitting the speed dial button for his lawyer. As soon as the man answered, Brian forgot all pleasantries and got down to business. “I need you to find out everything you can about an amnesia patient that was brought into Allegany Hospital seven months ago.” After listening to his lawyer complain about it being Christmas Eve, he continued, “I know it’s Christmas Eve, but this is an emergency and you’ll be well compensated. I don’t care how much it costs, but I need this settled immediately.”  
  
After his attorney assured him that he’d do everything he could, Brian ended the call and looked down at Gus. “We will not lose Jay…not if I have anything to say about it.”  
  
“If anyone can do it, you can Dad.”  
  
Brian smiled at Gus. “We’re going to relax and enjoy our Christmas, okay?”  
  
Gus nodded and splashed his hands in the water.  
  


***********New York***********

“I’ve told you all this before, Mr. Gold. It’s Christmas Eve and I won’t be hounded by you during the holidays.”

“Then give me access to my money, and I’ll stop bothering you.”

“That’s what you don’t seem to understand, Mr. Gold. It’s not your money. I don’t care if you were in a relationship with Mr. Taylor, he never made any provisions for you so there is nothing you can do. Until we have proof that Mr. Taylor is dead, things will remain as they are.”

“Of course he’s dead! He wouldn’t just disappear for all this time without letting anyone know unless something had happened to him. I want you to declare him dead and read the will.”

“I don’t have to read the will, Mr. Gold. I wrote it. However, I can’t just declare Mr. Taylor dead; there are procedures that have to be adhered to and one of them is that he has to be missing with no word for at least a year.”

“How the hell am I supposed to live without any money?”

“What exactly do you need money for? I have seen to it that Mr. Taylor’s bills are all paid. There was over thirty thousand dollars in your joint checking account, which should be sufficient to feed you for over a year.”

“Do you have any idea how expensive it is to live in New York? The money in our checking account was gone the first month.”

“Then I suggest you find a job, because you won’t get another penny from Mr. Taylor until such time as he’s found. By the way, just how much of that money did you spend in trying to locate Mr. Taylor?”

“I figured you’d be handling all that.”

“Of course I’m looking for him. I happen to care about more than his money.”

“Exactly what do you mean by that? I care about him.”

“I’m sure you do, Mr. Gold. You care about the dollar signs after his name. This conversation is over, and if you’re planning on selling any of Mr. Taylor’s personal items to make money, I suggest you think again. I’ll have you brought up on charges so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

Jonas Mathews, senior partner of Mathews, Jones and Collins, stared at his phone. He couldn’t stand Ethan Gold and never understood what Justin saw in the gold digger. He’d met Justin when he first arrived in New York with big plans to take over the art world…and he’d done just that.

Jonas picked up the phone and quickly dialed his private investigator in Pittsburgh. “How is our boy doing?”

“He seems happy, Mr. Mathews.”

“Did you find out anything more about the man he’s living with?”

“As I’ve told you before, Mr. Mathews, Brian Kinney is a stand up guy…a veritable rags to riches story. He grew up in an orphanage, put himself through college and now, he runs his own ad agency, which is extremely successful. He owns his own home, free and clear and has no outstanding debts. Financially, he’s worth millions and has made some very sound investments. He has a bit of a reputation as playboy and hasn’t had a solid relationship, but I assure you that in the last few months, he’s done nothing but go to work and come home.”

“And you’re sure that Justin seems happy?”

“All I can tell you is that I’ve seen him laughing on numerous occasions; Mr. Kinney has given him access to all his personal accounts and from all I can figure out, Mr. Taylor takes care of all household expenses. They’ve had a few parties over the last few months, and all the neighbors seem to think they’re perfect for one another.”

“Do you know if Justin is painting?”

“He’s been working part time in Mr. Kinney’s art department at Kinnetik.”

“Do you believe that this Mr. Kinney is trying to use Justin for his own personal gain in any way?”

“Initially, I think he just wanted someone to watch out for his kids. That’s the only reason I could figure out as to why he claimed to be married to Mr. Taylor. Now, it seems that they’ve become a family in every sense of the word.”

“How do you know that? You didn’t bug their bedroom did you?”

“NO! I would never do anything like that unless it was specifically called for, and it wasn’t in this case. I have observed them in town, holding hands and kissing…and I’m not talking about a little peck on the cheek either.”

“Okay, I don’t need to hear all the particulars. I just want to make sure that I’m doing the right thing by keeping Mr. Taylor out of New York and away from Mr. Gold.”

“As I’ve said, Mr. Mathews, he seems to be doing fine here. Do you want me to approach him with the news?”

“No. Not just yet. I need you to keep an eye out for Ethan Gold. I just refused to give him any money, so he may come to Pittsburgh, trying to find out what happened to Justin.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open and misdirect him, if he shows.”

“You’re doing a great job and I promise to make it worth your time. Keep me informed.”

“Will do.”  


 


	11. A New Memory

Brian looked up from the pile of bicycle parts as Jay descended the stairs. “Are the boys asleep?”  
  
Jay joined Brian by the Christmas tree. “Yes, I finally got Gus down. How is the project coming?”  
  
“What possesses the manufacturers of these things to make it so damn difficult to put together? On top of everything else, the fucking instructions are in Chinese.” Brian waved the paper in front of Jay’s face.  
  
Jay took the paper from Brian’s hand and deftly flipped it over. “Here are the English instructions.”  
  
Brian snatched the paper back and glared at it menacingly. “Those weren’t there just a minute ago!”  
  
Jay smiled indulgently. “I know. I’m a magician and just now made them appear.”  
  
“Hmph.” Brian smacked the instructions on the floor and started to read.  
  
Jay leaned over, picked up the small frame and located the handle bars, quickly assembling them.  
  
“Hey! You can’t just go putting things together without reading the instructions!”  
  
Jay looked over at Brian. “It looks pretty straight forward to me. You have the frame, the handle bars, two tires, a seat, the pedals and a chain. It’s not rocket science.”  
  
“Are you saying that I’m stupid? I’ll have you know that I could have had this thing assembled hours ago. I was just waiting so we could do it together.”  
  
“I know that, Brian, and I really appreciate you waiting so we could do this together.”  
  
Brian nodded, satisfied that his great sacrifice was truly appreciated by his lover. “I’m glad you understand.”  
  
Jay worked steadily, assembling the small bike with confidence. As soon as he put the last piece into place, he looked at Brian’s amazed expression. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Brian. Thanks for letting me do most of the work. Since I’ve lost my memory, I can’t remember our previous Christmases, so it’s nice to have this memory.”  
  
Brian fought the guilt he felt at hearing Jay’s words. “Yeah, well you were always better at this sort of thing than I was.”  
  
Jay smiled brightly. “Maybe that’s why it was so easy for me to assemble the bike. I’ve had more practice.”  
  
Brian took a big red bow and tied it to the handle bars of the bike, propping it up in front of the Christmas tree. When he saw Jay’s questioning look, he shrugged and replied, “Presentation is everything.”  
  
“So that’s all the presents, right?” Jay looked around at the mountain of gifts under the tree.  
  
Brian nodded. “Yeah, putting the bike together was the last thing on the list.”  
  
“Did you eat the cookies that were left for Santa?” Jay asked with a gleam in his eyes.  
  
“I left you one,” Brian replied with a haughty expression.  
  
Jay laughed and snatched the last cookie off the little plate. “I guess I better eat it fast before you decide to gobble it up.”  
  
Brian rolled his eyes as he watched Jay munching on the cookie. “I have an idea how we can work off all those calories.”  
  
Jay looked up at Brian nervously. For months, he’d managed to always be the one on top in their sexual exploits, but he knew his partner wouldn’t be put off again. He didn’t understand his reactions. Surely, he’d bottomed in this relationship before, and he couldn’t figure out why he was so terrified of doing it again. “Brian, did you ever hurt me during sex?”  
  
Brian’s eyes grew wide. “NO! Why the hell would you ask me something like that?”  
  
“I’m not accusing you of anything. I just can’t remember, and I – I’m just not sure why I feel the way I feel.”  
  
Brian felt a pressure squeeze his chest and he was finding it hard to catch his breath. Someone had hurt Jay. He felt a rage boiling beneath the surface screaming to be released, but he held on to his control. “Jay, I’m not sure what happened to you before we met, but I promise you that I’d never hurt you…not intentionally at any rate.”  
  
Jay threw his arms around Brian’s neck. “I know that, Brian. Listen, can we just take it slow?”  
  
Brian looked into Jay’s eyes. “We’ll just pretend this is your first time, okay?”  
  
Jay grinned. “I guess in a way it will be…the first time I’ll remember.”  
  
Brian wiggled his eyebrows. “Do you think you can play the timid virgin?”  
  
Jay laughed as some of his nervousness abated. “I think I can handle that.”  
  
Brian stood up and pulled Jay up with him. “In that case, let’s make this a night to remember.”  
  
Jay allowed Brian to pull him into their bedroom and stood still as his shirt was pulled over his head. He tilted his head to the side and smiled. “I’ve never done this before, Mister. Are you sure I’m ready?”  
  
Brian smirked. “Don’t worry little boy, I’ll take good care of you.”  
  
Jay shivered as he felt Brian’s hot breath fan across his neck right before warm lips pressed against his sensitive skin. “Well that definitely feels nice.”  
  
Brian chuckled softly against Jay’s neck. “We haven’t even gotten started yet.”  
  
Jay wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck and leaned against his body. “You’re not going to hurt me, are you Mister?”  
  
Brian lifted his head and looked down into Jay’s playful eyes. He stared for a moment and had to swallow hard before replying, “Never.”  
  
Jay felt his entire body tingle from the heat in Brian’s eyes. He tangled his fingers in his partner’s hair and pulled his head down, kissing him urgently.  
  
Brian’s fingers slid up Jay’s back, pulling him closer and deepened the kiss. His world shrank in a matter of seconds to the point that all he was conscious of was the man in his arms and the lips, tongue, and fingers that were driving him slowly out of his mind. He moaned into the kiss when he felt those fingers undoing his pants and pushing them down.  
  
Jay couldn’t remain passive. He wanted Brian and he was used to going after what he wanted. He wasn’t sure how he knew that about himself, but he was certain it was true. He slid his hands into the waist band of the black boxer briefs and pushed them down impatiently.  
  
“I’m in the driver’s seat tonight, Jay.”  
  
“Then put the pedal to the metal and get on with it.”  
  
Brian chuckled as he made quick work of getting them both naked. “I can’t believe you said that.”  
  
“You know what I meant.” Jay sat on the bed and pulled Brian close, rubbing his nose against the bronze skin.  
  
“Uh huh,” Brian said as his fingers disappeared into the blond hair, gasping softly as he felt Jay’s talented mouth close around the head of his dick. His fingers tightened and pulled Jay’s head closer as he slowly thrust inside, going deeper with each forward push of his hips.  
  
Jay moaned around the hard flesh sliding across his tongue. He closed his eyes and allowed Brian to fuck his mouth, gripping his hips to keep himself on target. He loved sucking Brian. The smell, the taste, the texture…it all screamed Brian. All too soon he felt strong fingers pulling his head back and was forced to release his prize, but not without showing his frustration with a loud groan.  
  
“Slide back on the bed and spread your legs.”  
  
Jay quickly moved into position and opened his legs, looking up at Brian with a sexy grin on his lips.  
  
Brian slowly crawled up the bed and settled between Jay’s spread thighs, never breaking eye contact as his tongue lapped the pre-cum that had pooled in the small opening. He pushed Jay’s legs up further and rubbed his nose against the soft patch of hair that nestled Jay’s balls. After gently sucking and lapping at each one, his fingers spread the plump cheeks and he nuzzled his way toward the puckered hole.  
  
Jay’s fingers clawed at the sheet, twisting it in his fists as he felt Brian’s warm breath on his sensitive skin. Sensations slammed into him. “Oh, fuck yeah.”  
  
Brian’s tongue slid over the opening and followed the crease all the way to the top, before slowly working his way back down to gently push inside. He pressed his face more firmly against the twin globes as his tongue teased around the edges before pushing inside just a little bit and retreating once more. Soft slow licks were followed by rough quick laps before his tongue disappeared inside.  
  
Jay was panting and twisting his head from side to side. His eyes were squeezed shut as he tried to process all the sensations. A part of him was rebelling against allowing this to continue while another part of him just wanted to enjoy anything and everything that Brian wanted to do to him. As that evil tongue penetrated him, he felt his protesting muscles give way, allowing entrance, stretching him, and pushing him apart so very gently. His fingers tangled in Brian’s hair as he felt that tongue gently probing; his body relaxed, his legs spreading a little wider, and his calves rested across his partner’s back.  
  
"Oh, fuck," Jay moaned, unable to stop. He was hovering on the edge, his body trembling with a need stronger than anything he’d ever felt. He was going to fly apart any second now, and he feared he’d never be the same again. His fingers released their hold on the sheet, and he brought his hand up to his face, sinking his teeth into the palm to keep from screaming his pleasure. It was the most intense feeling, and he shamelessly opened his thighs, pressing his ass against that thrusting tongue.  
  
Brian plunged his tongue in deeper, fucking Jay harder, sliding his tongue in and out, faster and faster, gripping his thighs tight enough to leave little bruises as he enjoyed the grunts of appreciation coming from his lover.  
  
Jay felt his sac draw up and his inner muscles started to spasm involuntarily. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, don't stop, don't stop, don't –“  
  
Brian pulled back suddenly and scrambled up Jay’s chest, bearing down hard, pushing him into the mattress. He grabbed Jay’s arms, twining their fingers together, and pressed his hands into the pillow on either side of his head. They were both breathing heavily and stared transfixed into one another’s eyes.  
  
Jay had never wanted anything as much as he wanted Brian inside of him right now. It no longer mattered whether or not he remembered doing this before.  
  
"Spread your legs more," Brain commanded.   
  
Jay obeyed without reservation; bending his knees and pressing his feet flat against the bed, he tilted his hips up without being asked.   
  
"Good boy." Brian licked a path up Jay’s neck to his lips over and over, tasting him, making himself hotter and harder.   
  
Jay felt the blunt latex covered tip bump against his opening and he pushed back against it, wanting it desperately. "Now,” he gasped desperately. "I want you inside me."  
  
Brian breached him slowly, his cock stretching the loosened opening as he pressed deeper, one slow agonizing inch at a time.   
  
Jay spread his legs wider, his knees touching the bed on either side of him, and pulled Brian’s head down, attacking his mouth as he moaned in both pleasure and pain. It hurt, but not as much as he’d thought it would. How long had it been since he’d done this? He was so tight that he felt every ridge of Brian’s dick even through the condom.  
  
He felt so full and had the strangest urge to cry. Their bodies were touching everywhere, warm, sweat slickened skin sliding together, fingers clasping and stroking one another.  
  
"Okay?" Brian asked quietly.  
  
"Fuck me," Jay whispered, pulling Brian’s head down do join their mouths together.  
  
Brian returned his kisses, smiling against his lips and moaning as he withdrew slowly.  
  
Jay's eyes fluttered and felt like they were going to roll back in his head at the agonizingly slow withdrawal. It felt like it took forever, pulling at his inner muscles, before he felt that thick shaft easing its way back inside, going deeper. It felt so good it should be illegal.   
  
Brian pressed his chest against Jay’s and fucked him gently, making sure to angle his hips until he found that bundle of nerves. The tight heat was driving him a little insane as he fought to keep his thrusts slow and easy. “I’m not gonna last long.”  
  
Jay’s fingers sank into Brian’s muscular shoulders as he met each thrust with one of his own. He’d been so close to losing control before Brian had even entered him that he knew he was only moments away. “Me either.”  
  
Brian lost control and slammed into Jay, thrusting until he felt those muscled spasm tightly and heard Jay’s cry. He quickly sealed his mouth over his lover’s not only to swallow Jay’s cry of pleasure but to mute his own. His body shuddered in release and he collapsed, boneless.  
  
Jay hugged Brian tightly as he tried to catch his breath. “I can’t believe I forgot something like that.”  
  
Brian raised his head, gently pulled out, and removed the condom, tossing it in the trash, before he looked into Jay’s eyes. “Just make sure you don’t forget tonight.”  
  
“Never. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” Jay snuggled against Brian’s chest.  
  
Brian tightened his arms around his lover as he thought, “I certainly hope that’s true.”   



	12. A New Family

  
Author's notes: For those of you who are familiar with the movie Overboard, I tried to come up with an ending that was similar to the movie without being exactly like the movie.  I know the ending seems pretty rushed, but the movie handled it the same way, so I hope you like what I've done.  
  
I'm not planning a sequel at this time, but you never know when I might visit this universe again.  I've fallen in love with this little family.  *grins*  
  
I want to thank all the people who helped make this story possible...my betas, my guinea pigs, and my regular readers who left great comments.  You guys give me the inspiration to keep writing...thank you all.  
   


* * *

  


Christmas morning dawned bright and early at the Kinney household.  Brian was roused from sleep by the loud screaming of his children.  “You’d think they’d never had a Christmas before,” he mumbled.  
  
“I can’t remember any that I’ve had, so I guess this is our first Christmas together as a family.”  
  
Brian jerked.  He hadn’t realized that Jay was awake, but how could he possibly sleep through all that noise.  “I guess we need to get up and go face the music, huh?”  
  
Jay laughed and jumped out of bed grabbing his robe.  “Come on, grouchy.  It’s Christmas!”  
  
Brian rolled his eyes and climbed out of his warm bed, grabbing his robe and followed Jay into the living room.  
  
“It’s about time!  We’ve been yelling for hours.”  Danny was dancing around the tree excitedly.  
  
“Can we open them NOW?” asked Gus.  
  
“I want that big one,” stated Chad.  
  
“That one’s mine,” argued Charlie.  
  
“Would you all just shut up and sit down so we can get this show on the road.” Nathan rolled his eyes at his younger brothers.  
  
Brian smirked at his oldest son.  “Did they wake you up too?”  
  
Nathan nodded and flopped down on the couch, trying to act mature and like he wasn’t as excited about opening his gifts as his brothers.  
  
Jay handed out all the presents and sat down next to Brian to watch the boys opening their gifts.  He couldn’t stop his laughter as they tore into the brightly wrapped packages like little tornados.  He felt Brian’s fingers curling around his and smiled up into his partner’s face.  “Merry Christmas, Brian.”  
  
Brian grinned and leaned down, kissing Jay softly on the lips.  “Merry Christmas, Jay.”  
  
Nathan looked over at his fathers.  “Hey what did you guys get for Christmas?”  
  
Jay looked at Brian before answering, “We decided to take a trip after the New Year.  I hope you guys will understand that we just want to spend a little time alone together.”  
  
Nathan nodded.  “That’s cool, Daddy J.  We need a break from you guys, too.”  
  
Everyone laughed and spent the rest of the day just enjoying the holiday and being a family.  
  
*******************************New Year’s Eve*****************************  
  
“I can’t believe you talked me into going to this party,” Brian groused as he straightened his suit jacket.  
  
“We’ll just ring in the New Year and come straight back home.” Jay ran his palms over Brian’s shoulders.  
  
Brian groaned.  “We could ring in the New Year at home.”  
  
“Be a good boy and I’ll let you be on top tonight.”  
  
“You’ll let me?  What do you mean you’ll let me?  You fucking love it when I’m on top.”  
  
Jay stepped into Brian’s arms smiling up at him as he slid his hand between Brian’s legs.  “True, but you enjoy it just as much when I’m on top.”  
  
Brian sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes.  “If you keep that up we’ll never make this fucking party.”  
  
Jay laughed and stepped back, walking out of the bedroom.  He looked back over his shoulder and winked.  “If you’re really good, I’ll fuck you before I let you fuck me.”  
  
Brian growled and lunged forward trying to catch Jay, but he wasn’t quick enough and his partner dashed out of the room laughing.  
  
*************************Across Town****************************  
  
“Mr. Mathews, I’ve done everything I can to misdirect Mr. Gold.  I kept him away from the family during the Christmas holidays, but I’m not sure there’s anything more I can do…well legally.”  
  
“No.  I don’t want you doing anything unsavory.  Just watch Justin and if Mr. Gold causes a scene, remove him from Justin’s presence.”  
  
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to the New Year’s Eve Party.”  
  
“If Ethan approaches Justin, whether or not Justin regains his memories, we’ll have to tell him the truth.  We certainly can’t have Justin believing Ethan Gold’s version.”  
  
“I’ll keep you informed, Mr. Mathews.”  
  
***************************GLBC New Year’s Party*****************************  
  
“Well you got me here, now what?”  Brian looked around with a bored expression on his face.  
  
Jay grinned, took Brian’s hand and led him out onto the dance floor.  “Now, you dance with me.”  
  
Even though there was a very fast beat song playing, Brian wrapped his arms around Jay, pulled him tightly against his chest, lowered his head to rest his chin on top of Jay’s head, and slowly swayed.  
  
Ethan stood in the corner and watched Justin kissing and rubbing up against another man.  He wasn’t jealous; he was pissed off.  That was his meal ticket out there, and he wasn’t about to lose it to some old guy, even if that old guy looked like a God.  He walked over and got a drink and stood on the side watching them dance.  
  
“Let’s grab a drink,” whispered Jay into Brian’s ear.  
  
Brian took Jay’s hand and led him off the dance floor.  He was surprised to hear Jay greeting some guy he’d never seen.  
  
“Hey, Ethan.”  
  
Justin froze.  His entire life came crashing down all at once.  He was Justin Taylor, world famous artist, millionaire, and had been living with Ethan Gold for three years.  He turned and looked at Ethan and then up at Brian.  He remembered living with Brian for almost a year, too.  
  
“So, you decided to talk to me, Justin.  I figured you’d just ignore my existence the same way you have for the last year, while Mr.  Artist Extraordinaire Taylor played the single slut, whoring yourself out to some rich old man.”  
  
“He’s not a whore and who the hell are you calling old?”  Brian stepped in front of Jay.  
  
Justin looked back and forth between the two men, not really processing what they were saying.  He wasn’t married to Brian, he wasn’t the father of those boys, this wasn’t his life, he’d been lied to, he’d been used, and he’d been left.  “SHUT THE FUCK UP!  Both of you just shut up.”  He pointed his finger in Ethan’s face.  “You are just now finding me?  What the fuck took you so long, or were you hoping I was dead so you could get your greedy little paws on my money?”  He turned to look up at a smirking Brian.  “What the hell are you smiling about?  You fucking lied to me.  You didn’t even try to find out who I was, where I was from, if I had a family, what my real life was like and you didn’t give a fuck as long as I was able to play “house daddy” to all your kids.  Do you know what you’ve done?  Do you have any fucking clue?”  He threw his hands up.  “I’m done with the both of you.  Maybe you two should get together, you’re a fucking perfectly matched set.  I’m going back to New York where I belong.”  
  
Justin turned and walked out of the room with both Brian and Ethan yelling at him to stop.  He hailed a cab and gave quick instructions to take him to the airport.  He was going home…back to his real life.  Once he got to the airport, he called his lawyer to get a plane ticket back to New York.  
  
Before long, he was sitting in first class heading back to the big city.  He tried not to think of the boys and Brian.  He was so angry.  How could this have happened?  What was he going to do?  He laid his head back and let the tears he’d been holding in fall.  It didn’t matter what he did.  He’d never have the life he wanted…not now.  He’d been offered a taste and now that was all gone.  
  
Brian picked the boys up from the neighbor’s house and took them home.  He was devastated.  Jay was gone.  What was he going to do?  
  
“Where’s Daddy J?” Gus asked as soon as they entered the house.  
  
Brian shook his head and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.  “He’s gone.  He remembered everything.”  
  
All five boys had identical looks of shock on their faces.  “NO!  You promised!  You said he was going to stay!”  Gus started hitting Brian’s hip as hard as he could.  
  
“I’m sorry, Gus.  There was nothing I could do.”  
  
“You can fix it.” Danny looked up at his father.  
  
“Yes, fix it,” agreed Charlie.  
  
“Go get him and bring him home,” demanded Chad.  
  
Nathan just stood there staring at the floor and trying to keep the tears at bay.  He should have known it wouldn’t last…nothing lasted for very long.  
  
Brian looked at the pain on his boys' faces; it mirrored the pain he was feeling.  He couldn’t just take this without a fight.  He was Brian Kinney.  There was nothing he couldn’t do.  
  
He marched over to the phone and dialed the airport.  “I need a plane ticket –” He looked over at the boys.  “No, make that six plane tickets to New York on the earliest flight.”  
  
Justin hadn’t slept at all.  He was in too much pain to sleep and just wanted to curl up in his bed and die, but he had to see Jonas to let him know what had happened.  He walked into his lawyer’s office looking like he’d been on a two year drunk.  His hair was a mess, his suit, which he hadn’t bothered to take off, was wrinkled, and his attitude sucked, but that was life.  
  
“Justin, my boy, so good to see you back and alive even if you look a little worse for wear.”  
  
Justin tried to smile at the man who was practically a father to him, but he just couldn’t muster the energy.  He plopped down in the over-stuffed leather chair.  “Yeah, I’m alive…big fucking deal.”  
  
“What happened to you?”  
  
“I was attacked after my show in Pittsburgh, wound up in the hospital with amnesia, and some fucking guy claimed I was his husband.”  
  
Jonas looked at Justin closely.  “I’ll have the papers drawn up immediately.  I’m sure you want justice, and I’ll see to it that this man pays and pays dearly.”  
  
Justin’s head jerked up.  “What are you talking about?”  
  
“Fraud, misrepresentation, kidnapping…I think we could probably come up with quite a few more charges to throw at this man.  He’ll do time, I promise.”  
  
“No.  No you can’t do that.  Brian has kids.”  
  
Jonas raised his eyebrow.  “What do you care?  This man used you.  Hell, he practically abused you, and he deserves to pay.”  
  
Justin swallowed hard.  He was still angry, but he couldn’t do that to Brian and those boys.  “No.  Leave him alone.”  
  
“Do you care about this man, Justin?”  
  
Justin shook his head, and fought to keep from breaking down in front of his friend.  “I – don’t.  No, no I don’t care about him at all.”  
  
“Good, because I’ve already started legal proceedings against Mr. Kinney.”  
  
“What?!  You can’t do that!  I won’t allow it!”  
  
“I thought you said you didn’t care about him.”  
  
Justin swallowed hard, but couldn’t stop the sob from erupting.  He covered his face with his hands and cried for everything he’d lost.    
  
“Justin, calm down.  I haven’t done anything, yet.  I just wanted to know how you felt about the man.”  
  
Justin finally got his emotions under control.  “It doesn’t matter anymore.  It’s over.”  
  
“Are you sure?”  Jonas squeezed Justin’s shoulder, and they heard his secretary shout, “WAIT!  You can’t just barge in there!”  
  
Jonas’s office door burst open and Justin looked up to see Brian, still wearing his suit and looking like he was ready to battle an army.  
  
Brian looked at the man standing next to Jay…Justin.  “You call security if you have to, but I’m going to talk to Justin.”  
  
Justin stood up and glared at Brian.  “We have nothing to say to one another…leave.”  
  
Brian walked over and stood in front of Justin.  “Look, I know what I did was wrong and I did it for all the wrong reasons, but what I feel for you isn’t wrong.  I didn’t intend to fall in love with you, but I did, and so did the boys.  If you can honestly tell me that you don’t care about us, then I’ll leave and never bother you again.”  
  
Justin looked up at Brian.  The face that he’d grown to love.  He couldn’t deny that he was in love with this man.  “I do love you, but I’m not sure I can ever trust you again.”  
  
“Then, I’ll just have to prove to you that you can.  I’m not giving you up.  If you need time, I’ll wait.  If you need reassurance, I’ll do that.  You just tell me what you need, and I’ll do my best to give it to you.  I love you, Ja – Justin.”  
  
Justin smiled and wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck holding tight.  “I love you too, Brian, but you have to call me Jay.”  
  
Brian smiled and leaned down to capture Jay’s lips in a forceful kiss.  “Anything you say, Jay…anything you say.”  
  
The room erupted in loud squeals, laughter, and clapping.  Jay turned to see all his boys standing in the doorway.  He opened his arms and they were immediately filled with five eager boys, hugging him and trying to talk all at the same time.  Who said you couldn’t go home?  He certainly was just as soon as he showed his new family where he used to live.  
  
The End  
October 2, 2008  
  
  



End file.
